Select committee: Scottish Affairs Committee
Conclusion 77
First Report - Universities and Scotland
Published 28 May 2021
Addressed to Scotland Office
Scottish Affairs Committee Universities and Scotland All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
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
From: Scottish Affairs Committee, First Report - Universities and Scotland (HC 54), 28 May 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 27 April 2022 (deadline 28 July 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government's response sets out continued work with the devolved administrations and existing UK-wide policies on international students, immigration, research funding and talent, and states it will submit a response to the earlier Immigration and Scotland report "shortly".
- On the Turing Scheme, it confirmed funding for three years, including "£110 million for the 2022/23 Academic Year". It states the scheme "prioritises pupils, students and learners over staff and inward mobility funding", and says the first year's impact will be evaluated.
- On Erasmus+, it states that President Von Der Leyen "has previously confirmed that association by part of a country is not legally possible".
- On UKRI, it states that Board appointees "are not recruited to represent any constituency, sector or regional grouping", while a legal requirement to have regard to research conditions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is taken into account. It says Research England's place on the Executive Committee reflects its status as a legal component of UKRI.
- On visa costs, it states that "UK visa fees are broadly in line with our competitors" and that it will "continue to keep visa fees under review".