Changes to PSW visa route come under fire

Recent changes to the UK work permit system have been criticised by businesses. As of April 6th this year, the Tier 1 post-study work (PSW) visa route was closed by the government.

This had allowed international students to work for up to two years in the UK following their graduations. Now, non-European Union graduates who want to remain within the country need to obtain a work visa sponsored by their employers. In some cases, the assistance of immigration solicitors may be required.

The coalition administration closed the scheme because it believed it was being abused by individuals who were more interested in working in Britain than in studying.

Commenting on the development, Andrew Methven from London-based firm Newland Public Relations noted that securing a UK work permit for Chinese graduates is becoming increasingly difficult.

He remarked: "Sometimes it takes months to complete the admin work to sponsor one worker. We have to guarantee our input is worthwhile."

Each firm can only apply for a specific number of permits per year, and Mr Methven stated that Newland received only half of the number asked for on its previous application.

Meanwhile, another of those to express conce
s about the changes was Oxford University vice-chancellor Andrew Hamilton. He warned the scrapping the PSW visa may deter foreign students from enrolling, the BBC reported.

Echoing his sentiment, postgraduate law student and president of the Oxford Indian Society Arghya Sengupta told the BBC Asian Network: "Given the fact that one of the major incentives is the opportunity of getting work for at least some period of time, I think that the post-study work visa being banned as a blanket rule perhaps may be slightly too drastic."

People who are facing difficulties conce
ing work visas and so on can get in touch with immigration solicitors for assistance.