In response to this afternoon’s publication of the Immigration
White Paper, Alistair Jarvis, Chief Executive of
Universities UK, said:
"International staff and students, both EU and non-EU, make a
vital contribution to the UK higher education sector. The ability
to recruit international staff at a broad range of skill levels
and students at all levels of study, with minimal barriers, is
vital to the continued success of our universities.
"There are over 83,000 international staff working in UK
universities. The reforms to the Tier 2 system are a step in the
right direction, but need to go further. Removal of the cap on
numbers of highly skilled workers is welcome acknowledgement that
EU and non-EU university staff make a major contribution to the
success of universities. Their contribution is vital to
post-Brexit Britain.
“Any decision to maintain the salary threshold at £30,000 however
would have serious implications for technicians and language
assistants in particular, who are vitally important to teaching
and research. 63% of European Economic Area (EEA) nationals
working as technicians at UK universities earn below £30,000, in
vital areas such as biosciences and clinical medicine EEA
nationals make up over a quarter of the technical workforce.
“There are 135,000 EU students in UK universities. We welcome the
recognition of the benefits that international graduates make to
the country through the introduction of post-study work for a
period of up to one year for PhD students and 6 months for
others, but unless we allow all graduates to stay and work for
two years the UK will continue to lag behind our global
competitors in our offer to international students.
“Under these proposals EU students will also now require a study
visa, placing an additional burden on students and universities.
“Over the coming months of consultation we will be seeking
changes to these proposals to ensure the best possible deal for
university staff and students.”
