United Kingdom: MAC Recommends For Graduate Visa Route to Remain

• Reasons. In reaching its conclusions, the MAC (the UK government’s independent advisor on migration policy) noted that the Graduate visa route had ‘broadly achieved’ the government’s intended goals for the route, which included increasing the attractiveness of the United Kingdom to international students, retaining talent, and ensuring employers have access to skilled graduates. Furthermore, the MAC stated that it had found no evidence of any abuse of this visa route in terms of deliberate non-compliance with immigration rules.
• Recommendations. The MAC made several peripheral recommendations regarding the Graduate visa route, including:
  • Introducing a mandatory registration system for international recruitment agents;
  • Requiring universities to publish data on the number of students recruited via agents as well as the cost of using such agents;
  • Requiring universities to provide the UK Home Office with confirmation that students completed their course;
  • Advising the UK government to only make changes or open new graduate visa routes when it has a clear plan regarding how it will collect and monitor data to assess the effectiveness of such routes against their objectives.

Employers are likely to welcome this MAC recommendation, with the Graduate visa route providing an additional pathway for businesses to access skilled talent and reducing the degree to which they need to make a significant upfront training investment in new employees. Additionally, entrants under the route also contribute to the United Kingdom’s economic and cultural growth.

• Graduate visa route. The Graduate visa route – which has been open since 2021 – enables foreign students who successfully complete an eligible course (including a Bachelor’s degree) to remain in the United Kingdom for two years after graduating (or three years in the case of a PhD).
• Five-point plan. The UK government had commissioned the MAC to review the route as part of its five-point plan announced in December 2023, aimed at reducing net migration the United Kingdom.

The MAC’s recommendations are only effective if the government formally accepts them. Until then, employers are bound by current immigration rules. However, the MAC’s recommendations are highly influential and most of its recommendations are typically accepted by the government shortly after they are made. The UK government is expected to follow the guidance issued on this topic and keep the Graduate visa route in its current form.