Recommendation 77

The duration of the Student visa depends on course length but, at degree level, can last for up to five years.180 It usually costs £348 to apply for a Student visa from outside the UK or £475 to extend or switch to a Student visa from inside the UK.181 On top of visa costs, prospective international students also need to pay a healthcare surcharge of £470 per year.182 Students in the UK may be able to work whilst on a Student visa, but it depends what subject is being studied and whether the work is in or out of term-time.183 In the view of Matt Crilly, President of NUS Scotland: [ … ] we should be striving to make sure that our country is welcoming of international students. [ … ] International students are having to pay up to £2,000 for a visa to come and study here. Something that I think is particularly striking, given the fact we are going through a global health pandemic, is 174 Q256 175 Q233 176 For example: Q169 177 RSE Young Academy of Scotland (USC0006) p 3 178 HMG, ‘Student visa’, accessed 13 April 2021 179 HMG, ‘Browse: Study in the UK’, accessed 13 April 2021 180 HMG, ‘Student visa’, accessed 13 April 2021 181 HMG, ‘Student visa’, accessed 13 April 2021 182 HMG, ‘Pay for UK healthcare as part of your immigration application’, accessed 13 April 2021 183 HMG, ‘Student visa’, accessed 13 April 2021 Universities and Scotland 33 the NHS surcharge going up from £300 to £470 for international students. Things like that make the country a lot less welcoming to international students, who this year in particular are struggling with some elements of the pandemic.184