UK Govt Reduces Graduate Route Visa to 18 Months Under Immigration White Paper

The UK government has released a new immigration white paper on 12th May 2025, including major changes involving a shorter post study work visa validity period from 2 years to 18 months. Also, stringent rules will be applicable for study, work, and family visas. The main reason why Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged stricter enforcement in the UK’s immigration system is to control borders and reduce migration numbers.

This Story also Contains

1. Key Restrictions Announced in UK For International Students
2. Key Restrictions Announced For UK Work Visa Or Residency
3. Conclusion

Reducing the UK graduate route from 24 months to 18 months is one of the major changes under the immigration white paper. Originally, the Graduate route was introduced in 2021 to allow international students to stay in UK for 2 to 3 years after completing their studies to work. However, more and more graduates stayed on this visa in the UK over time. In 2024, the number of students staying on the Graduate route increased to nearly 2,50,000, which is a significant rise from 1,00,000 in 2022. At the end of June 2023, the number of sponsored study visas peaked at 498,000.

The UK government further addressed the issue involving the misuse and exploitation of student visas by international students. These visas are often used to enter the UK to live and work without a genuine intention to pursue the course. Although the government initiative aims for 600,000 international students by 2030, concerns over the multifold rise in housing costs and non-availability led to such measures being taken.

Moreover, several speculations outline that the migration white paper aims to associate the Graduate route for international students planning for professional job roles. However, this document remained unclear about the fact that students need to secure certain professions to be eligible to stay in UK.

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The graph above mainly shows that the main applicants for student visas in UK remained fairly stable from December 2014 to December 2019. Then, the number dropped sharply, likely due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. Then, it majorly increased with a stable number of nearly 400K main applicants for UK study visas in 2024. It shows that international students have sustained interest in migrating to UK despite the fluctuations in the immigration rules.

Other key changes introduced by the UK government under its immigration white paper include the following. Students, kindly note that the exact details on UK immigration policies will be updated soon. PM Keir Starmer has outlined the key areas for these updates in UK immigration rules, and specific details on implementation remain unclear.

Key Restrictions Announced in UK For International Students

• As a mandatory requirement for universities and colleges in UK using agents to attract international students, they must use the Agent Quality Framework (AQF).

• Although there is no final take on this, the UK government, through the Immigration White Paper, has considered levying 6% on the income of higher education providers (universities and colleges) from international students. The final details are yet to be finalised till the Autumn budget.

• More rigid and stricter student visa compliance rules will be introduced. According to the UK government, the current rules are too lenient, leaving scope for abuse and misuse of the visas. New rules might require institutions to meet higher enrolment and completion rates. For example, UK institutions will further need at least a 95% course enrolment rate and a 90% course completion rate. To check whether the universities in UK comply with the rules, a Red-Amber-Green rating system must be followed.

Key Restrictions Announced For UK Work Visa Or Residency

Let us check what the immigration white paper includes particularly about UK work visas and permanent residency.

• Also, one of the aspects included in the immigration white paper includes that the previous automatic settlement and citizenship for individuals who have stayed for at least 5 years in UK will end with the new system. It makes the pathway for permanent residency longer and more competitive for migrants in UK. Instead, international students, professionals, or other migrants need to stay at least for 10 years in UK to be eligible for citizenship. Exception: Individuals have shown a real and long-term contribution to the UK economy.

• The immigration white paper also outlines the need for higher English proficiency requirements for different categories of visas, including main applicants and their dependents. Along with the main applicants, adult dependents will be further required to prove their English command at level A1 (Basic User). Also, students on short-term English study visas will face tighter rules. Check the English language requirements according to the new update:

English Proficiency Requirements For UK Visas:

Related Reads:

• Requirements for UK Post Study Work Visa

• UK Student Visa Requirements

• UK Study Visa VFS Checklist

Conclusion

As released on 12th May 2025, the new immigration white paper in UK tends to tighten the previous visa requirements for international students, including the shortening of the Graduate route visa validity from 24 months to 18 months. This step is taken to manage the migration levels, focus on highly skilled graduates to land highly designated jobs, and address the issues of rising costs as well as shortages of housing in the country.

Although the implementation is yet to be cleared, Indian students might face challenges in securing post study work opportunities in UK after graduation. Due to this unclear draft provided by the UK immigration authorities, the National Indian Students and Alumni Union, which is also known as NISAU, has requested the government to provide clearer information to avoid the current panic amongst students.