The professor leading the government’s Migration Advisory Committee has warned the home secretary that his request for a rapid review of the graduate visa route sets timescales “much shorter than a normal commission”, which will “substantially limit the quality and quantity of evidence” it can provide.
Brian Bell, professor of economics and head of department at King’s College London, and the MAC chair, responded on 12 March after the government set terms of reference for the “rapid review” of the graduate route, which universities fear could spell financial damage if it recommends scaling back or scrapping the route.
James Cleverly had written to Professor Bell on 11 March – more than three months after the government’s original announcement that the graduate route would be reviewed – asking it to report by 14 May on issues including “analysis of whether the graduate route is undermining the integrity and quality of the UK higher education system”.
There is a growing backlash against the graduate visa among Conservative MPs as their worries about the level of net migration grow ahead of the next election. Some argue that the route – which allows overseas graduates of UK universities to stay in the country for two years after graduation – has become an open door for low-skill, low-wage workers.
