Prime minister Rishi Sunak is considering plans to allow foreign students at UK universities to work more hours as he searches for ways to increase the labour pool.
Currently, Britain’s 680,000 overseas students are limited to 20 hours of paid work a week during term time to prevent student visas from being used as back routes to jobs in the country.
Sunak and government economists would like to raise this cap to 30 hours, or remove it entirely in a bid to create conditions more likely to promote growth.
But the plans, part of a “swathe of ideas being considered”, appear to run counter to the thrust of policies put forward by home secretary Suella Braverman who is planning to reduce the number of foreign students in the UK and add fresh limits to their ability to do outside work.
Immigration trends
Home Office’s graduate visa reform could deter skills
Braverman has argued that making it easier for foreign students to work would incentivise immigration, and the misuse of the graduate visa route.
She has argued that the amount of time the students can stay in the UK on a graduate visa after they complete their studies should be cut from two years to six months.
There are 9 million economically inactive people with 1.3 million empty posts and students are seen as a way of filling vacancies in hospitality and retail, which are particularly struggling with recruitment.
International students made up 476,000 of the 1.1 million migrants who arrived in the year to last June.
It has been reported that some universities described the plans as “positive news” for overseas students struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and chancellors hoping to boost the numbers of foreign students.
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However, other academics quoted in The Times said that “too many working hours isn’t good for study” and some further education institutions were likely to oppose it for that reason.
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