It’s important to understand the cumulative impact of the changes to UK immigration law on (1) the foreign student (2) the employer (3) the university/education provider.

The key change was the 2011 decision about the student route into the country by the Home Secretary. That decision specifically led to a whole cascade of changes which created further problems. Since then, the current advisors to Number 10 have been responsible for issuing releases effectively saying the system works, when perhaps it clearly needs simplification.

In 2009, the Labour Government introduced a points based system for foreign students which deemed the university as performing the same role as that of an employer, a sponsor ( https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110113104245/https://press.homeoffice.gov.uk/press-releases/new-rules-foreign-students). Students wishing to study in the UK would need a tier 4 visa. It’s important to note, the significance of this is that most international students enrol on placement courses. They need work experience (placements) to finish their studies/obtain qualifications.

By 2011, the Government suspended Tier 4 visas because they thought most applications were bogus. Theresa May then made the (Damaging) decision to close the post-study work visa route which allowed students on the Tier 4 visa a few years to find “employment” in the UK before leaving. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/major-changes-to-student-visa-system. The new regulations required education institutions sponsoring students to be accredited before being allowed to recruit international students. If an employer wanted to take on a foreign student, it would now have to recruit the student on a tier 2 visa (https://www.ilpa.org.uk/data/resources/14771/12.05.28-Changes-in-Immigration-Rules-affecting-opportunities-to-settle.pdf). In April 2011, the Government then closed a scheme which permitted employers to obtain Tier 2 visas for these students (https://www.workpermit.com/news/interim-tier-2-visa-limits-until-april-2011-20110103) and imposed a cap of around 20,700 Tier 2 visas from then on and removed visas from certain occupations it thought are below degree level. However, foreign students with £50k in funds were permitted to stay under a new Entrepreneurs visa.

In 2012, the Home Office abolished the right of international students in Higher Education “to work” in the UK. The Government then imposed new Tier 2 visa requirements upon employers with, the perhaps unintentional, consequences of frustrating the ability of students on technical, professional and vocational courses in the UK to finish their degrees. The visa applicant must pass a higher standard of English proficiency tests (e.g. higher than the one in place to study on the course they were on)*. Employers must have advertised the vacancy (for the placement) locally first. Confusingly, the rules were then relaxed for PHD-level jobs and jobs over £150k. The rules were also in theory meant not to apply if the student had graduated under the Tier 4 visa (because they had leave to remain to work for a few months until they got their degree certificate). The Tier 2 route was the one which the Government thought could be used for post-study work but ignored work-based learning which required much longer placements before the “student” was able to get a recognised professional qualification. Students on MBAs were then invited to apply for Tier 1 Entrepreneur visas (capped at 1,000) as long as they applied from outside of the UK and those students were exempted from the Tier 2 Visa requirements. Those on Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur visas were permitted to work because it was assumed that was required in order to develop their business plan. Students on a Tier 4 visa could switch to Tier 1 entrepreneur visas if they met those requirements (e.g. assets set aside).

In 2013,the Government then made the problem worse. Universities by now were not just given responsibility as sponsors for foreign students but expected to be the de facto immigration inspector for foreign students they sponsored and were subject to an inspection regime. Fees were raised for Tier 2 visas and the number of Tier 2 visas were permanently capped at 20,000. The Government also then made a further change for foreign students. If they wanted a Tier 2 visa, the employer needed to issue a “certificate of sponsorship” which it had to apply for. But if the certificate was for a foreign student who was abroad, then the “job” must be at a graduate level. If the foreign student was in the UK, then it could be at school leaving age qualifications (e.g. much lower paid roles). The Government then restricted new visa applicants from abroad unless the certificate for sponsorship was for a “job” earning £23k but if the job was for an occupation identified as a skill shortage (e..g one needed), the Government was advised the threshold should be £27k. For those students on placements for less than a year, they still had to set out the annualised salary even if they ended up paying barely half of it. In the meantime, those students now on Tier 4 student visas could switch to a Tier 5 visa to undertake an internship directly related to the qualification studied *if and only if* the university organised the scheme and the Government recognised/approved it ( https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/533773/Approved_Government_Authorised_Exchanges_July_2016.pdf). In the meantime, the Government then opted to change the guidance for those on Tier 1 Entrepreneur visas in an emergency move to require them to provide documentary evidence they wanted to set up a business rather than work in the UK. Later in 2013, the Government then relaxed rules for employers to hire students on a Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur visa without advertising it if they switched to a Tier 2 visa ( https://institutions.ukcisa.org.uk/news/129/New-Immigration-Rules-from-1-October-2013)

In 2014 - the Government then opted to impose further changes. Students already in the UK (under a tier 4 visa) could not then extend their stay by applying as a Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur visa. They would have to leave the UK in order to apply to change their visa ( https://smithstonewalters.com/2014/07/24/clampdown-tier-1-entrepreneur-route/). Students on Tier 4 visas, even if enrolled and in the UK, would also have to show the Home Office that they had more money in order to maintain themselves and any dependents in the UK. Students who were seeking to satisfy the higher language requirements through English language courses.

In 2015, the Government then decided to strip the right to work from foreign students enrolled in public colleges. They also introduced a new bar on Tier 4 students studying below degree courses if they lasted longer than two years (full-time). In the case of universities, all Tier 4 student visas now to demonstrate “academic progression” e.g. they were building on previous students. All Tier 4 students in the UK were also now not permitted to change their visa to a graduate entrepreneur (Tier 1), to working for an employer (Tier 2) and inexplicably to get onto an internship of a government approved scheme (Tier 5). They would have to leave the country each and every time. ( https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tier-4-visas-immigration-rules-changes). Employers offering students work placements on Tier 2 visas also faced a rather rude shock as minimum salary requirements increased across the board ( https://www.davidsonmorris.com/tier-2-changes-2015/). This meant that on top of additional fees, they also had to raise the salary of students working with them even if it was less than 12 months. This affected employers providing work based learning at salary levels near the minimum thresholds in place at the time. New rules were then introduced to “short-term” students which covered issues for both the student and any dependent children coming with them ( https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/407476/HC_1025_Immigration_Rules.pdf). Students studying longer than 6-months also faced a new “health surcharge” to be paid for making use of the NHS (that matters because access to healthcare is important for employers who have to obtain insurance for health and safety). Those on the Tier 1 entrepreneur visa (including existing visa holders) now also had to face additional checks and interviews with immigration officers ( https://www.mcgillandco.co.uk/Blog/2015/03/03/tier-1-entrepreneur-changes-with-effect-from-6-april-2015). This was unnerving as nearly half of applicants for Tier 1 found their applications refused.

In 2016, the University or education provider were now faced with additional issues for their foreign students. Where the foreign student wished to change courses (e.g. because they wanted a placement), they would now have to reapply for a tier 4 visa if they couldn’t change to a course completed in the time the visa was originally issued ( https://www.isc.co.uk/media/3164/tier4_immigration_rules_changes_april_2016_factsheet.pdf). In the meantime, those students attempting to enter on short-term visitor visas were finding refusal rates had increased significantly. Furthermore, all foreign students in the UK and had been in the UK since childhood faced a new rule change, which meant that the time spent in education as a child would be counted as part of the time limit for which a student could remain in the UK ( https://www.edwincoe.com/blogs/changes-immigration-rules-6-april-2016/). This compounded the pressure on foreign students who had studied GCSEs and A-levels (or Scottish equivalents) and got a place working for an employer. By the time they started employment by switching from a tier 4 to a tier 2, they could find themselves refused and asked to leave as if they were an “overstayer”.

In 2017, things got worse for students and universities. Whereas before, the university was the sponsor and the student could work up to 20 hours, they were now told ( https://www.carterthomas.co.uk/2017/03/24/legal-update-tier-4-sponsors/) to tell students if they did work longer than permitted than the earnings could be confiscated under criminal law (in England and Wales). For employers recruiting trainee students on a tier 2 visa, they found the minimum salary threshold hiked up to £30k ( https://www.davidsonmorris.com/planned-changes-uk-immigration-rules-april-2017/) with an additional charge of £1,000 (if the firm was sponsoring an employee not switching from a tier 4 visa to a tier 2 visa). This affects one of the ways employers used to get around recruiting students, which was to hire them to work abroad and transfer them internally. Some universities also then opted to amend their policies in order to not to accept applications from foreign students for sponsorship if they were deemed as an “overstayer” ( https://www.lse.ac.uk/intranet/students/ISVAT/News.aspx).

The assumption from the Government is that generally, the applicants understand the rules when they change, the sponsor universities can absorb the bureaucratic codes, the employers are not operating in competitive markets or in markets where they are competing for international students.

*it must be noted, students seeking to satisfy the higher language requirements to complete their degrees through English language courses were adversely affected the same way as these students who were studying English in the UK https://www.independent.co.uk/student/news/theresa-may-wrongly-deported-48000-students-after-bbc-panorama-exposes-toeic-scam-a6958286.html

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