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Godot has arrived!

  • 10 September 2019

In response to the Government’s announcement on the reintroduction of the two-year Post-Study Work visa, Nick Hillman (Director of HEPI), said:

At last, Godot has finally arrived. All the evidence, including our own, has long suggested we need a better regime for international students past and present.

We’ve been standing still and therefore falling behind our fast-growing competitors, such as Australia, in recent years because the offer to international students has been so uncompetitive.

The evidence for a change of approach is overwhelming and it has always been a matter of time before we saw sense as a country. It has taken a decade to recalibrate our approach towards international students – much longer than we expected – but, by the sound of things, the day when we can move forward has finally arrived.

The economy, universities and students will all benefit from a more sensible approach. It is likely to have the biggest impact on the number of students coming from the Indian subcontinent. Given that Jo Johnson has fought so hard for this in and out of office, it is a really significant legacy that he leaves behind.

Note for Editors

Since 2017, HEPI, Kaplan and London Economics have jointly produced three reports on the benefits of international students, including one in March 2019 on the tax contributions of those who stay in the UK to work under the current more restrictive post-study work rules:

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