September 11, 2019
The Prime Minister has announced plans to help the best and brightest international students start careers in the UK.
We’re changing our immigration rules – so international graduates will be able to stay in the UK for two years to find work. This change means we can keep more of the best and brightest students – further boosting our economy.
The new Graduate Route means that talented international students who have successfully completed a degree from a trusted UK university or higher education provider can stay in the country for up to two years after graduating to find a suitable job.
By giving international graduates the chance to stay in the UK and find work, we’ll become even more competitive in the science and technology sectors.
We’ll also be able to strengthen our position as the top place for cutting-edge research, because employers will have access to a wider range of talented graduates. Helping to keep Britain’s economy strong.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: ‘Our universities thrive on being open global institutions.
‘Introducing the Graduate Route ensures our prestigious higher education sector will continue to attract the best talent from around the world to global Britain.”
UK universities are known for being among the best in the world. The support we give to international students is one of the many reasons for our success.
So by ending restrictions on foreign graduates, we give them more opportunities to find a high-skilled job and contribute to the British economy.
This means more high-skilled research, engineering, and technology roles will be filled in Britain. So the UK will be even more productive and competitive on the world stage- benefitting the whole country. With a strong economy, we can afford to pay for the public services we all rely on. And we’ll be home to more scientific and medical breakthroughs, attracting more businesses and more investment.
Britain has a rich tradition of international collaboration and research. This new Graduate Route will mean we remain open to the best talent in the world.
Since becoming Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has made clear that a Conservative immigration policy means keeping immigration under control, while allowing high-skilled migration into the country.
Part of that means putting in place the new Graduate Route, designed to attract elite researchers and specialists in science, engineering and technology – from maths Olympiads at the very start of their careers to the winners of internationally recognised prizes and fellowships.
And it also means putting in place an Australian-style points-based immigration system. That way, we have control of who comes into our country – while making sure we are the most attractive country for the world’s top scientists and researchers.
Our immigration policy is built around attracting the very best minds from around the world. Only the Conservatives can deliver it.
We want the world’s best talent to be able to study and work here. However, we still need to control immigration. Labour’s immigration policy risks all of that.
Labour don’t want to take back control of immigration. They don’t want to end freedom of movement.
Instead, Labour want to remove immigration caps – meaning a Labour government would let anyone enter the country. Whether our economy needed them or not.
Only the Conservative’s immigration policy will keep our country safe and attract the best and brightest international graduates. Labour would simply make the same mistakes of the past and cause more economic chaos.
Commenting, Therese Coffey, Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions, said:
“Corbyn’s Pension Tax will see ten million savers facing a huge bill forcing them to delay their retirement for almost three and a half years.
“This is just one of the ways a Corbyn government would hammer hardworking people on top of his plans to hike up taxes by £2,400 a year, as well as the cost of his plan for unlimited immigration and the chaos of 2020 being dominated by two more referendums – one on Brexit and another on Scottish independence.
“Only Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party can get Brexit done with a deal, get parliament working again and turbocharge our economy to unleash Britain’s potential.”
Read more about how this Pension Tax will impact millions of savers (PDF)
