UK expands global talent route but curbs graduate stay-on

The United Kingdom government has announced new rules that allow expansion of its highly skilled talent route but restrict the time allowed for international students to find a graduate-level job and raise the English language requirements for migrants to A-level equivalent.

The measures are aimed at attracting the best global researchers and talent while tightening up on immigration in general, including by international students.

In new rules set out in Parliament on Tuesday, the government announced an expansion of the High Potential Individual (HPI) route to graduates from the top 100 international universities – doubling the previous scope of eligible institutions – with a cap of 8,000 applications per year.

This measure could increase the ability of leading universities to attract top talent but make it harder for those outside of the top 100 in leading global rankings.

The number of people coming to the UK through the HPI route is expected to double from 2,000 to 4,000, giving graduates from the world’s best universities the chance to base their careers in the UK.

In a press release the Home Office said: “The government aims to double the number of highly skilled people coming to the UK on our high-skilled routes, including the best researchers, designers, and creatives working in film and TV to ensure continued competitiveness in growth sectors.”

The world’s most talented entrepreneurs studying in the UK will also be able to “seamlessly establish innovative business ventures” in the UK after concluding their studies while transitioning from a student visa to the Innovator Founder route.

Home Office Minister Mike Tapp told Parliament that the white paper published in June sets out changes to “further support entrepreneurial talents currently studying at UK universities so that they can build their business and career in the UK after completing their course. We are therefore amending the conditions given to students to enable them to start work on their business while they are transitioning to the innovator founder route”.

Changes to the Global Talent route for high achievers in technology, arts and academia include an expanded list of prestigious prizes, and changes to expand some of the evidential requirements of achievement and contribution for architects are also due to be made.

Further changes to the Global Talent route will be made in 2026.

Graduate stay-on rule tightened

Meanwhile, the time allowed for international students to find a graduate-level job after completing their studies will be cut to 18 months from the current two years for most graduates. PhD graduates will continue to be eligible for three years’ permission.

The new rule is being written in November and will come into effect on 1 January 2027. Tapp told MPs that the change came after data clearly showed that “too many graduates are not progressing into graduate-level employment, which is what the graduate route was created to facilitate access to”.

“It is intended to ensure that those who remain in the UK transition into graduate-level jobs and properly contribute to the UK economy,” Tapp noted.

Finance requirements for student visas will also be increased for the 2025 to 2026 academic year, raised to £1,171 (US$1572,54) per month outside London (from £1,136) for up to nine months, with foreign students having to demonstrate they have such funds to support themselves.

In addition, migrants will be required to pass tough new English language requirements under a law introduced in Parliament on Tuesday, as the government continues to tighten up the immigration system, seeking to ensure it is “controlled, selective and fair”.

From 8 January, immigrants applying through certain legal routes must meet an A-level equivalent standard in speaking, listening, reading and writing.

This higher standard will require some applicants to resit tests such as IELTS or the Secure English Language Test (SELT).

The tests must be conducted with a Home Office-approved provider, and the results will then be verified as part of the visa application process.

Application of the new language requirement to dependants in work and study routes will be included in future changes to immigration rules.

Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said: “This country has always welcomed those who come to this country and contribute. But it is unacceptable for migrants to come here without learning our language, unable to contribute to our national life.

“If you come to this country, you must learn our language and play your part.”

The net level of migration for the UK fell to 413,000 by the end of December, less than half the record level of 960,000 the year before.

However, the government says this is still well above historic levels, and immigration continues to be a top issue of concern among the British public and high on the agenda of political parties.

Shara Pledger, an immigration expert at law firm Pinsent Masons, said the requirement for international students to meet higher financial requirements from 2025 and 2026 appears designed to reduce the number of international students applying to study at less prestigious universities.

“The government’s white paper earlier this year partly attributed the UK’s high net migration to the ‘rapid increase in sponsored study visas at lower-ranked education institutions’.

“Home Office data suggests that UK visas for universities globally ranked between 601 and 1,200 increased by 49% between 2021 and 2023, whereas visas for top 100 universities fell by 7% over the same period.

She previously said she believes the rules for attracting global talent are geared to making it easier for businesses in the UK’s ‘strategic industries’ to recruit foreign research interns in AI as well as design and scientific talent.

Louise Nicol, founder and CEO of Asia Careers Group, said although President Donald Trump’s Executive Order imposing a US$100,000 threshold for H-1B visa applications for highly skilled professionals will make the HPI visa in the UK more appealing, the situation otherwise looks “very difficult, particularly for lower-tariff institutions”.

She said a hike in fees for employers sponsoring skilled or specialist workers from £1,000 to £1,320 – although it does not apply to many scientists and researchers – will make employers even less likely to hire international graduates.

She pointed out that reducing the time allowed to study post work before finding a graduate-level job to 18 months compares unfavourably with schemes in other countries, which generally run for two years, further denting the competitiveness of the UK’s offering to international students.

“Universities will have little choice other than to support international students in securing great jobs back home. To this end, they need access to non-EU graduate outcomes data, now available to all UK and Australian universities,” she told University World News.

She said it increasingly looks as if the government considers a number of lower-tariff institutions “going to the wall” to be a price worth paying, simply to appear “tough” on immigration.

“The sector must act now and focus on supporting international students to transition into successful careers back home, as the government slams shut once-open doors for international students hoping to establish careers in the UK after graduation,” she noted.