Teaser

The Coalition today gave a teensy-tiny hint of what's the come in the future on student visas and the Post-study Work Visa - or, as we here at Some Things I've Read Industries call it, the sole route to my future happiness.

[Universities minister David Willetts] said the "range of options from complete closure to the status quo was still under consideration for the future of the 'post-study work route'", under which 38,000 students stay on each year. He did, however, report concern that some universities would be disadvantaged in the international market if they were to lose that route.
The immigration minister [Damian Green] indicated last month that he and Willetts were considering placing time restrictions on post-work study rather than abolishing the scheme.

It's really good news that they're being hesitant about this. Time restrictions are not ideal - I'd imagine they're thinking of something along the lines of what used to be called the Working Holiday Visa, where you got it for a fixed period of time and couldn't renew it. But compared to the usual Coalition approach of "bugger the consultation - just ram it through!", this is a good sign. Hopefully it stays nice and ambiguous right through the summer, so I can have my lousy visa already by the time they make up their minds.