The United Kingdom’s recently released Immigration White paper introduces regulations across work, study and settlement routes that are likely to affect Indian students aspiring to study in the country. Here’s a look at a few of the changes that directly impact international students:

The Graduate Route, which currently allows students to remain in the UK for two years after completing their degree, has now been reduced to 18 months.

Compliance: To prevent student visa misuse, the government plans on strengthening the compliance requirements that all sponsoring institutions must meet. A Red-Amber-Green rating system will be introduced to monitor institutions to make sure they are meeting the requirements with a cap on recruitment placed on those that don’t.

Use of Recruitment Agents: The Agent Quality Framework (AQF) will made mandatory for institutions keen on using recruitment agents for international students.

English Language Requirements: English language requirements have also been beefed up. Not only will prospective students be required to meet the English language requirements, adult dependants will also need to be conversant in the language. As Starmer tweeted recently from his x handle: “If you want to live in the UK, you should speak English. That’s common sense. So we’re raising English language requirements across every main immigration route.”