Communication about immigration rules changes

Communicate the recent immigration rules changes to staff and students, especially the impact of the Skilled Worker salary requirements, the university's position to these changes, and the review of the post study work visa provision under Graduate route.

Update:

The rule changes were communicated to the students through newsletter sent by the MCI team in the month of March

Review visa advice service scope

Visa advice should be offered to students based on their needs, with consideration on regulatory limitations. For work related visa advice needs, the service should focus on Graduate route, with more in-depth advice about transition to Skilled Worker visa, signpost for visa pathway to Global Talent & Innovator Founder, and link to other routes.

Update:

The team has agreed on the scope, which will be included in the new Immigration webpages due to go live by October 2024.

Transform student facing webpages

Immigration service is undergoing a Web Transformation project with the new webpage going live in June 2024. As part of this, the webpages about post-study work visas will aim to inform international students about longer-term immigration routes, suitable visas, transitions, surprises, and leveraging the Graduate route for future goals. Synergise with International Student Careers page for streamlined information sharing

Update:

The student-facing webpages have been drafted and reviewed by students at various levels to ensure they are user-friendly. Most of the webpages are already live, with the remaining pages set to go live shortly.

Improve self-service capability

Produce self-downloadable letters outlining international students' work rights and visa options, as well as visual and easy-to-understand leaflets to include in job applications, strengthening their application and raise awareness especially with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Update:

• Employer Leaflet
• Produced PGT working rights document to support international student in their application process
• Produced Working Rights of international students on Student Visa for Employers

Raising awareness of Global Talent Visa

Promote Global Talent visa for PGR students seeking research and academic roles.

Collaborate with Doctoral College for tailored PGR visa sessions, supported by Warwick HR.

Update:

The Student Experience Team has provided an information sheet for the PGR Newsletter and is awaiting further details from the Doctoral College regarding student attendance for the Global Talent Visa and PGR visa pathways sessions.

Raising awareness of Enterprise Pathways

Bespoke guidance and collaborative working with Warwick Enterprise for Enterprise Pathway visa information assets (for example, direct switch from Student Visa, or or indirect switch via the Graduate route to Innovator Founder visa).

Update:

Key information communication

Ensure timely communication with international PGT students regarding when they can start full-time work, which is typically available from the end of August.

Update:

The team collaborated with the MCI team to keep students informed about working rights and the Graduate Route visa through the July, August, and September communications. Furthermore, the team also provided leaflets to new international students to educate them about their working rights during the Right to Study check events, which are currently taking place from September to October 2024.

Review the 'Prevention of illegal working' solution

Review the in-house ‘prevention of illegal working’ solution in light with new immigration rules and consider whether it continue to strike the right balance between supporting student transition from student visa to graduate route or skilled worker visa, and ensuring compliance.

Update:

This was verified during the UKVI mock audit taking place on 29th July 2024