Reacting to the UK Government’s announcement that international students will be allowed to live and work in the UK for two years after graduating, Alastair Sim, Director of Universities Scotland, said:
“This is a very significant and positive announcement for Scottish and UK universities and one that has long had overwhelming cross-party support in Scotland as well as support from staff, students and Scotland’s business community. We’ll want to look closely at the detail behind today’s announcement but a two year post study work visa will start to put the UK back on a competitive footing when it comes to international student recruitment.
“The potential impact of this will be felt much more widely than our universities; it is sure to make a positive contribution to Scotland’s demographic challenges and to Scotland’s economy in the medium and long term. It’s also a positive start to a much needed change of messaging from the UK Government to the rest of the world.”