Following many years of advocacy, we welcome the news today that there will be a new visa to allow international students to work in the UK for two years after graduation. This reverses a decision made in 2012 that forced overseas students to leave four months after finishing a degree.

The change will apply to international students in the UK who start courses at undergraduate level or above from academic year 2020-21 onwards. Previous KCLSU officers have submitted evidence to parliament and worked with national-level student organisations like the NUS and NISAU on this issue.

This two-year visa is welcome news but more needs to be done. We want to ensure international students can fully contribute socially, culturally and economically to the UK, their own countries and society at large.  As international students ourselves we will be working hard over the next year to make sure that King’s College London is the most welcoming destination for students from across the world. If you are an international student starting at King’s this year find out more on our welcome pages about how to get involved with KCLSU.

You can watch a video of our President, Shaswat, talking about this change on BBC World News here or by clicking below: