The University of Edinburgh will be included in a pilot scheme to simplify the visa process for those students on a Master’s course of 13 months or less.
Tier 4 students will now be able to stay for six months after their course ends in order to seek work which is only two months more than they can at present.
Minister for International Development and Europe, Dr Alasdair Allan, said:
“We are pleased that the UK Government has recognised the need to broaden the Tier 4 pilot scheme to include two universities in Scotland, although it is disappointing that it has taken over a year for the pilot to be expanded. We urge the UK Government to roll out these modest changes to the Tier 4 route to all universities as soon as possible.
“We remain concerned at the UK Government’s emphasis on visa refusal rates as the basis for including institutions in the pilot, as this can unfairly discriminate against smaller or more specialist institutions.”
Glasgow University is also being included in the pilot.
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