United Kingdom Home Secretary Suella Braverman is working to implement a new law which will reduce the amount of time international students can stay in the UK upon course completion to six months, after which they have to have a skilled job that makes them qualified for a work visa.
Ms Braverman intends to cut the number of foreign students in the UK from 239,000 to “tens of thousands.”
UK Department for Education is resisting Ms Braverman’s plan as they fear it will make the UK less attractive to foreign students, who pay more tuition than their UK counterparts as they are a significant source of income, generating £25.9 billion per year to the UK economy through fees and spending.
Another measure considered by the Home Office is restricting visa applications only to those who have completed studies in high-demand subject areas, such as engineering.