UK Government tightens the Visa restrictions for international students

Soon all will not be well for the business schools and MBA universities in the UK. The majority of them are worried about the decline in applications from the international students (those that are not from the Euro Zone) that may result in because of the visa restrictions that have been imposed by the UK government. The new visa restrictions will come into effect from April 2012 and according to them, the MBA graduates from the UK universities will have lesser time to look for the job after graduation than they do now.

This is explained as follows: till now, the student visa allowed the MBA graduates to stay in the country for two years even after their MBA graduation on the pretext of looking for job. However, from now on, the students will have to make sure that they get the job in the country before the program ends or within a few months after their graduation or else they will have to leave the country (that is if their visa expires before they can land a job!)

The UK MBA universities dread reduction in the application for international students because of the visa restriction. Their fears are in a way justified because the UK is the second hottest destination for GMAT candidates and the USP of the UK universities stems from two factors:

  • One year MBA programs that are less costly
  • The heretofore followed visa rules that allowed them two years after the graduation to look for work

Other countries such as Australia, India and Singapore have easier visa regulations and there are pretty good chances that the GMAT aspirants may head towards these countries for completing their MBA graduation. The UK universities have worked hard towards building their reputation as the hub for international MBA education. The administrators are scared that the proposed Visa regulations will make the MBA education in UK unattractive, taking from them the bulk of their applicants.

The students on the other hand will also be affected adversely, given the current job and placement scenario. The students at the best business schools like London Business School etc. may not have to worry as majority of them are placed before the completion of their graduation. However, the students at other universities may have to bear the brunt of visa restrictions.

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