Foreign students who fail to pass their degrees in the UK may face the possibility of being denied visas to stay in the country, according to Home Office advisers. The idea of requiring graduates to achieve a "certain grade" in order to remain in the UK has been floated. Home Secretary James Cleverly has assigned the Migration Advisory Committee to review the pathway that nearly 100,000 students use to find work after completing their studies.

Reviewing the graduate route

Professor Brian Bell, the chairman of the Migration Advisory Committee, has highlighted the lack of formal requirements for graduation and the absence of specific grade requirements for university courses. He stated that these are the aspects that the committee would like to review regarding the graduate route. The question at hand is whether it is reasonable to have a rule in place for achieving a certain grade or accomplishment in the course.

Confusion over salary rule and net migration impact

Recent confusion arose regarding whether the new £38,700 salary rule for migrants would apply to those already in the UK. Legal migration minister Tom Pursglove clarified that the increased threshold for family visas would not be applied retroactively. Professor Bell stated that this rule change would have only a minimal impact on net migration. However, he also mentioned that the government's recent package of measures is likely to significantly reduce annual arrivals by 300,000.