The Co-Chairs of the APPG, Paul Blomfield MP and Lord Bilimoria, have written to The Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department, calling for changes to the policy that prevents postgraduate taught (PGT) students from bringing dependants to the UK.
In the letter, they set out the unintended consequences of the restriction of dependant visas and the impact of these restrictions on the financial sustainability and international reputation of UK higher education. They urge the Department to act quickly to stem the decline that institutions are experiencing to their global reputations and the viability of their postgraduate programmes.
The letter sets out three recommendations, intended as moderate and balanced measures that will have an indetectable impact on the ONS’s migration statistics but which would provide a vital lifeline to the UK’s postgraduate offer.