A top government adviser has expressed support for plans to scale back the right of foreign students to stay in the UK after graduation.
Professor Brian Bell, chairman of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), told The Sunday Telegraph that the independent body thought it “unnecessary” for foreign students to be permitted to work in Britain for two years after completing their master’s degree.
A graduate visa allows master’s students to bring spouses and children to the country with them. Family members are permitted to stay in the country for 24 months after the student’s course is over.
According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), a significant factor behind the rise in net migration numbers in recent years has been an increase in foreign students and their dependents arriving….