Update: New UK student immigration routes to open early

Planning to study in the UK soon? You’ll be pleased to know that the government is opening the new UK student immigration routes early. International students can apply for a visa from Oct. 5, 2020 onwards, ahead of its previous date of Jan. 1, 2021.

The Student route and Child Student route will be open to an unlimited number of international students, including those from Europe coming to study after the Brexit transition period ends. This follows the government’s commitment to introduce a points-based immigration system in 2021. It aims to extend equal opportunity to all foreign talent in the post-Brexit UK.

These routes are expected to attract the brightest minds from all over the world. The government statement on GOV.UK reads, “We recognise that as a result of coronavirus, some overseas students are choosing to defer their entry onto courses in the UK until the spring semester of 2021. Introducing these new routes now means that students will be able to benefit from the new streamlined process whilst still giving sponsors time to adapt after their autumn intake.”

Russell Group CEO Tim Bradshaw welcomed the UK student immigration update, commenting, “We will continue to work with the government to ensure our visa system remains flexible and responsive to developing issues, such as those emerging from the coronavirus pandemic.”

The move aims to attract 600,000 international students to UK universities by 2030.

Besides that, the statement also said, “We also want to ensure we retain the brightest and the best students to continue to contribute to the UK post-study, which is why we are launching the Graduate route in the summer of 2021.” This allows graduates with a UK degree to stay on to work for two years, or three years if they have a PhD.

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