Posted on Tuesday, February 15th, 2011 at 1:29 pm

Beginning last November, the United Kingdom announced a series of new rules and regulations that would change how student visas were issued. This change in the visa process was brought about when more and more people were coming to the UK under a student visa and, instead of returning to their home country, they brought their family and settled down.

According to Home Secretary Alan Johnson, 30% of migrants living in the United Kingdom came originally under a student visas. Many individuals did not just come to the United Kingdom as degree seeking students, but instead came on a short-term program with the intention of finding employment and relocating – and many “students” did this successfully. In order to curtail this trend, the British government decided to tighten the visa process to make it more difficult for students to stay in the United Kingdom after their studies.

Now, the United Kingdom has implemented a new Tier 4 student visa process that is based on a point system. You get points based on your age, qualification, experience, English language skills, previous earning, and funding. In order to keep your visa, you will need to continue to obtain enough points to maintain your status.

The biggest controversy in this situation is called Tier 1. Currently, a Tier 1 visa allows graduates with a bachelor degree or higher to work up to two years once their degree is completed. In April 2011, this “Tier 1” option may be removed forcing students to leave the country immediately after graduation. With 38,000 Tier 1 Visas in 2009, many British universities and colleges are worried that this is going to effect their overseas enrollment.

These visa changes are critically important and can impact the trends of international students. Currently, the United Kingdom is the second largest host of international students, right after the United States. If the United Kingdom restricts their visas and post-education experience, some experts predict that many international students studying in the United Kingdom will go elsewhere.

Posted by Jennifer Frankel

Jennifer is the International Director at International Student Insurance. Jennifer is a graduate of the University of Florida where she holds a Masters in International Business and a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration. She has lived and worked abroad in Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica and England, and traveled extensively in South America, Europe and Asia.