Suella Braverman’s proposal to reduce the time foreign students can stay in the UK after finishing their course is being “strongly opposed” by the Department for Education, The Times can reveal.

The home secretary has drawn up a plan to reform the graduate visa route, which at present allows international students to remain in the UK without any requirement to get a job for up to two years.

Under her proposal, this would be reduced to six months. Students would have to obtain a work visa by getting a skilled job or leave the UK. However, leaked advice has revealed that the Department for Education is attempting to block the changes as they would harm the UK’s attractiveness to international students.

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