Graduates entrepreneurs with “world-class innovative ideas” will be allowed to remain in the UK beyond their university studies, as the government responds to criticisms of its new visa regime for overseas students, reports the Times Higher Education. Up to 1,000 places for non-EU students will be made available under the Graduate Entrepreneur Route, immigration minister Damian Green confirmed. Overseas students can currently work in the UK for two years after their course has finished, but tighter restrictions on post-work study will be introduced in April. From then, only graduates with a job offer from a reputable employer accredited by the UK Border Agency at a salary of at least £20,000 will be able to continue living and working in the UK. The tightening of the regime is part of moves to cut net immigration from about 250,000 a year to the “tens of thousands” by the end of the Parliament.
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=419007&c=1