The Graduate Visa was launched in 2021 to offer international students studying at degree level in the UK the opportunity to work here for two years after study. On the 1 July 2023, the visa had officially been available for two years and the first of the students to access the visa had begun to take their next steps. To mark this anniversary, the APPG for International Students conducted a short inquiry into the effectiveness of the Graduate Visa route in its first two years.
The expert roundtable was one of two events hosted by the APPG for International Students, to inform the inquiry. APPG members had the opportunity to explore the evaluations of the route which have been done to date, and to ask questions of their expert authors. The experts included the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS), the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA), IDP Education, and others.
The inquiry explored the effectiveness of the Graduate Visa in three areas:
- To support international student ambitions to work in the UK after study.
- To support the international student experience and positive perceptions of the UK as a study destination.
- To support local, regional and national employers and economies by contributing to the skilled workforce and encouraging new entrepreneurs.
The expert roundtable was the main method of collecting evidence for the inquiry as we did not hold an open call for evidence. The roundtable sought to:
- Identify where there is consensus and disagreement on the effectiveness of the Graduate Visa as it relates to the scope of the inquiry.
- Identify where there are gaps in available evidence that could and should be addressed to better support the effectiveness of the Graduate Visa.
- Explore possible recommendations for government, the education sector and students to enhance the effectiveness of the Graduate Visa to meet the aims identified by the inquiry.
A summary of the evidence from the experts was circulated ahead of the roundtable.