New entrepreneurial post-study visa to be launched
February 07 2012 by Helen Johnson
The UK immigration department is set to bring in measures making it easier for foreign students, who have shown entrepreneurial flair while on their UK university courses, to remain living in the UK.
The plan has been announced by Immigration minister Damian Green, who has been defending his decision to close the post-study work visa route. This route allowed those studying in UK universities to stay on and work in the UK for two years. However, following the scrapping of this route, Green has introduced the new route for exceptional students.
Those with interesting and promising business ideas will be offered UK visas to allow them to remain in the UK to develop their ideas. The new visa route will be open from April 2013. Green explained, "Now that we have moved away from the old model of mass unselective immigration we can develop the system further to encourage the brightest and best to come here."
Each student that applies for the special visa will have to secure sponsorship from a UK university and the visa can be extended for a maximum of two years.
However, the plan has attracted some criticism for being "super selective", which opponents believe could keep very talented and skilled workers out of the UK.
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