The UK government’s plans to raise the salary required to obtain a skilled worker visa by almost 50 per cent will diminish the country’s appeal to international postdoctoral researchers, the president of the European Research Council has said.
Announcing the plans on Monday, James Cleverly, the home secretary, also said a review would be conducted into post-study work visas, which currently enable those who complete an undergraduate or postgraduate degree in the UK to stay in the country for at least two years.
Speaking at an event hosted by the Foundation for Science and Technology on Wednesday, the ERC president, Maria Leptin, called the UK government’s announcement “bitter news” that “will affect postdocs”, adding: “I hope there’ll be a rethink of that.”
“The attractiveness of the UK for researchers – we know what Brexit has done for that,” Professor Leptin said. “This immigration policy does not sit well with people who want exchange, who depend on exchange, who are willing to explore, who are willing to uproot from their current place.
