This HEPI blog was kindly authored by Joanna Hart, Products, Services, and Innovation Director at the Mauve Group.
In the last couple of months, the UK Government has unveiled a 10-year, Modern Industrial Strategy and published an Immigration whitepaper, which referenced expanding visa pathways such as the High Potential Individual and Global Talent visas. The industrial strategy aims to attract highly skilled global talent in eight priority sectors, with a strong focus on technology and innovation. Collectively, these efforts to attract global graduates are undercut by new barriers facing international undergraduate students.
Ongoing changes to the Skilled Worker visa, including steep increases to salary thresholds, and tighter restrictions on dependents, combined with proposals to shorten the Graduate Visa, and introduce a controversial 6% international student levy, create mounting financial and reputational pressure on UK universities, while also deterring international undergraduates.
In response, institutions are turning to establishing overseas campuses to offset domestic shortfalls and attract local talent who may still benefit from expanded UK visa pathways post-graduation. While attracting high-level international talent is valuable for addressing skills gaps in the UK, it must be part of a broader, symbiotic strategy. One that nurtures international students from undergraduate level through to employment to ensure UK higher education remains globally competitive.
Visa routes
An important step in the much-needed long-term strategy is the implementation of expanded visa pathways, such as the High Potential Individual (HPI) visa, traditionally for internationally educated post-graduates.
High Potential Individual (HPI) visa
The High Potential Individual (HPI) visa is a UK immigration pathway designed for recent graduates from 40 top global universities, providing the opportunity to live and work in the UK for several years. At present, 47% of universities on the list are from the US, with just one institution from the entire southern hemisphere featured.
The Immigration whitepaper released in May and the UK government’s industrial strategy referenced extending the HPI visa to a wider selection of global universities. According to the UK government, it intends to roll out a ‘capped and targeted expansion of the HPI route for top graduates, doubling the number of qualifying universities.’ However, we do not yet know whether this expansion will be based on global league tables or geographic location.
Innovator Founder visa
The Innovator Founder visa offers the opportunity for founders of new, innovative, viable and scalable businesses to operate in the UK for three years. Traditionally, it facilitates incoming innovation, but the newly announced UK industrial strategy suggested the Innovator Founder Visa would be reviewed to make it easier for entrepreneurial talent currently studying at UK universities to be eligible. Details are yet to be disclosed but recent figures reveal that the average Innovator Founder Visa application success rate to the UK is almost 88%. While this is significant, it is not as high as other visa types, such as the Skilled Worker Visa, which is 99%. While the initial approval rate for Innovator Founder Visa applications sits at 88%, this figure can be misleading. The critical bottleneck occurs later down the line at the endorsement stage, which leads to the success rate falling sharply to just 36%.
Skilled Worker and Graduate visa
Changes to visa pathways for domestically educated international students, including the Skilled Worker and Graduate visas, may result in applicants feeling short-changed. For example, it has been proposed that the standard length of the Graduate visa, which allows international students to remain working in the UK at the beginning of their careers, be reduced from two years to 18 months. If implemented, it may make it hard to secure a career after studying in the UK.
Meanwhile, effective from the 22nd July 2025, the minimum salary threshold for the Skilled Worker visa will rise to £41,700. Occupation-specific salary thresholds will also increase by about 10%, with the minimum skills requirements raised to Royal Qualifications Framework (RQF) level 6 for new applicants. Prior to the changes, between 30 and 70 per cent of graduate visa holders in employment may not have been working in RQF level 6 or above occupations. Although there are some discounted thresholds for PhD students, especially in STEM fields, these changes are set to exclude many current Skilled Worker visa holders.
How will higher education respond to stricter selective visa rules?
Drawbacks
One of the major drawbacks comes from the announcement that the government is considering introducing a 6% levy on higher education provider income from international students. It is likely that universities will be forced to consider passing these costs onto international students. The UK’s higher education sector generates £22 billion annually from international students and education, making it a valuable export to the UK in an increasingly competitive global market. The proposed levy risks discouraging international students and undermining this critical source of economic growth.
Many institutions will already have factored in price increases to account for rising costs going forward, making an additional 6% unfeasible.
Numerous universities are already struggling financially, with courses and entire departments being cut. With the possibility of a highly reduced international student body due to the levy and further changes to graduate visa pathways, these institutions face increased strain, meaning even more drastic cuts may be imminent.
Benefits
With an emphasis on higher visa thresholds, rising costs and the controversial 6% levy on international fees, UK universities face growing challenges to remain competitive in the global education landscape.
In response, many are rethinking their models, with institutions like the Universities of Liverpool and Southampton establishing campuses in Bengaluru and Gurugram, India, respectively. UK Universities operate 38 campuses across 18 countries, educating over 67,750 students abroad. Embracing international collaboration not only broadens the research opportunities available to UK universities but also supports financial sustainability and preserves the UK’s reputation as a global education powerhouse. By establishing overseas campuses and hubs, the UK’s academic influence extends well beyond its borders. This pivot will provide opportunities for international students to receive UK-affiliated accreditations, potentially giving them greater access to selective UK visa pathways post-graduation.
To adapt, higher education must develop a more integrated approach; one that links international recruitment, offshore campuses, and expanded visa pathways in a cohesive, long-term strategy. This means not only attracting global graduates but supporting students from undergraduate level through to employment, driving opportunity and innovation in the UK.
If UK institutions are to remain global leaders, they must work with the government to ensure that opportunity does not begin at graduation; it begins at enrolment. By nurturing this full pipeline, universities can continue to feed the skilled workforce envisioned in the new industrial strategy.