Exclusive:UK immigration visa changes will be ‘deeply damaging’ to Scotland’s universities

New immigration changes will be “deeply damaging” to Scotland’s universities, the education minister has warned.

The UK government announced sweeping reforms on Monday that include English language tests for adults accompanying foreign workers to the UK, care homes being prevented from recruiting staff from abroad, and foreign students who have studied for degrees in the UK facing tighter rules over their right to remain after finishing university.

Higher Education Minister Graeme Dey has condemned the announcement as he reiterated the request for the UK government to back SNP calls for a “Scottish graduate visa”.

Old College at the University of Edinburgh | PA

He told The Scotsman: “The UK government's planned immigration changes are short-sighted and will be deeply damaging to Scotland’s universities.

“International students, academics and staff make a vital contribution to Scotland's world-class universities, helping to drive our nation's prosperity. That is why we will continue to urge the UK government to agree to our plans for a ‘Scottish graduate visa’.

“This would allow graduates of Scottish institutions a further two years on their visa to work towards qualifying for a skilled worker visa, encouraging and enabling the best international talent to live and work in Scotland.

“The Home Office’s intention to reduce the duration of the existing UK-wide graduate visa from 24 months to 18 months is wrong and demonstrates that the policy approach to migration ignores the needs of Scotland or the higher education sector.”

The concerns were raised after it was revealed the number of overseas students at Scottish universities dropped by more than 10,000 last year. Edinburgh and Dundee universities are among higher education institutions north of the Border that have announced hundreds of voluntary redundancies as they grapple with major financial deficits.

At a conference on Monday, Sir Keir Starmer said high net migration figures had caused “incalculable” damage to British society, and claimed the country risked becoming an “island of strangers” without better integration.

The University and College Union (UCU) also raised concerns about the announcement. UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: "This anti-growth white paper is straight out of the Reform playbook. With higher education already under severe financial pressure, any further restrictions which deter international students from coming to the UK could lead to universities going under.

As Reform UK's popularity continues to rise, other parties are starting to sound like Nigel Farage (Picture: Chris J Ratcliffe) | Getty Images

"To stand any chance of staying in power, Labour must cease trying to be Reform-light and instead begin prioritising the investment that will improve working people's lives. The Home Office needs to stop imposing arbitrary restrictions that prevent international students and staff from coming to the UK, driving economic growth and enriching local communities. Its failure to do so will harm universities, the country and our global standing."

However, Universities Scotland, the representative body of Scotland's 19 higher education institutions, was more positive and said it would wait for more details.

Claire McPherson, director of Universities Scotland said: “Universities recognise their responsibility to ensure that international student recruitment practices are robust and that growth is well-managed and sustainable. We are happy to work closely with the UK government to that end.

“Many of the changes announced today will help preserve an internationally competitive offer to international students. Today’s confirmation that the graduate route will remain in place, with some minor changes will offer some relief to institutions, even if it is not the direction we wanted to see UK government policy go in.

“There are aspects of today’s announcements we need to understand in greater detail, including what length of transition period will apply to the change in compliance assessments.”