 |
| Students from outside Europe should be given special permission to stay
and work in Scotland after their studies have finished, according to a
report. |
The Scottish government's Post-Study Work group said the work visa,
which was abolished by the UK government in 2012, should be
reintroduced.
A Home Office spokesman said the system had been open to "widespread abuse".
But the Post-Study Work group said there was "overwhelming" support for its re-introduction in Scotland.
The post-study work visa had allowed non-EU graduates to remain in the UK for two years.
Under
the current rules, students from outside the EU are allowed to stay in
Britain for four months at the end of their courses and if they get
graduate jobs they can switch from student visas to work visas.
Graduate jobs
In December, Home Secretary Theresa May
gave her backing to a plan that would require all foreign students to leave the country at the end of their courses.
Mrs May believes the current rules are being abused, with many students staying in the country illegally after their studies.
The
plan put forward by the Conservatives would require anyone whose
student visa expires to leave the country and re-apply if they want to
continue their studies or take up graduate jobs.
But Scottish
Europe and International Development Minister Humza Yousaf said the
Post-Study Work group report showed there was a "clear indication that
business and education in Scotland are equally keen to see the
reintroduction of post-study work visas."
He added: "Immigration
policy is currently too heavily influenced by the priorities of the
south east of England, based on the values of the current UK government
and driven by a desire to reduce the numbers of incoming migrants which
does not recognise Scotland's needs and does not serve our economic or
societal interests.
"Scotland's needs are different to those in
the rest of the UK. Scotland has a large, established migrant community
and the Scottish government welcomes the contribution new Scots are
making to our economy and society."
Negative impact
Mr
Yousaf said the post-study work visa would help Scotland attract and
retain "world-class talent to fill vacancies which cannot be filled by
resident workers".
He said the report made clear the negative
impact on education institutions, communities and the economy since the
scheme was closed in 2012.
The minister said: "We welcome the
Smith Commission's view that the UK and Scottish governments should work
together to explore a potential new post-study work scheme for Scotland
and will make every effort to work with the UK government to ensure
that such a route is re-established in Scotland."
A Home Office spokesman said: "The student immigration system we inherited was open to widespread abuse.
"In
its place, we are building an immigration system that works in the
national interest by attracting the brightest and the best to study and
work in top universities and good jobs, not allowing bogus colleges to
cheat the rules and letting graduates remain to drive pizza delivery
vehicles.
"In fact, we are seeing record numbers of applications
to our universities with figures up by almost 18% under this government -
and our elite Russell Group institutions are leading the way, showing a
30% rise since this government came to power.
"Britain remains
the second most popular destination in the world for international
students behind only the US, and has seen significant growth from key
countries including China and Malaysia."
Source: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-31998769
While
the government recently said it would waive visa requirements for 30
countries starting in April, legal issues may delay its implementation
as an Indonesian law stipulates that visa exemptions could only be made
on a reciprocal basis.
Tourism Ministry’s spokesperson Vincent
Jemadu said that the ministry would propose the elimination of the
“reciprocity basis” clause, which could hamper implementation of the
visa-free privilege for the 30 countries.
The Immigration Law No.
6/2011 stipulates that the only foreigners who are allowed to enter
Indonesia without visas are citizens of countries that similarly don’t
require Indonesians to get tourist visas.
“In order to
effectively implement the visa-free policy we do need to revise this
law; otherwise we have to conduct a painstaking process of negotiation
for reciprocity,” Vincent said.
“We are planning to propose this
[revision] to the Law and Human Rights Ministry to support the
government’s plan to boost the country’s foreign exchange income from
the tourism industry,” he continued.
Through the visa-free
policy, the government aims to attract an additional 3 million tourists
this year, bringing the overall target up to 11 million tourists.
Malaysia,
which waives visa requirements for 164 countries without any
reciprocity basis, welcomed more than 27 million foreign tourist last
year.
As reported, the government would extend the visa-free
policy, which was initially set for China, Japan, South Korea and Russia
only, to 30 countries, including Canada, Mexico and the US.
Also
included on the list are European countries such as Austria, Belgium,
the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy,
the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK,
in addition to South Africa and Middle Eastern countries such as
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Currently,
tourists from these countries are still required to pay a US$35 fee for
a visa-on-arrival for a 30-day stay in Indonesia.
Law and Human
Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly earlier said that the government would
keep pushing the aforementioned countries to also adopt the visa-free
policy for the sake of reciprocity.
Pushing for reciprocity, however, will be a daunting task for the government.
French
Embassy press officer Gaspard Vignal said that Indonesia’s planned
visa-free policy would possibly attract more tourists from France to
Indonesia. “France is enthusiastic about this project; more French will
be able to come and visit Indonesia. For the reciprocity, however,
France is under the Schengen rule for visas. The country is not the only
one to decide,” he said.
Separately, Adam Rutland, the head of
media and communications at the British Embassy, said that the UK visa
requirement was given a regular review and there was no plan to change
the visa requirement yet.
Law and Human Rights Ministry’s acting
director general for immigration Tengku Syahrizal said that the ministry
was still waiting for an official direction regarding the
implementation of the visa-free policy, which was planned to come into
effect in April.
“Based on the law, it should be implemented on a
reciprocal basis, but the government has decided to waive visa
requirements, even though it is not in accordance to our law,” Tengku
said. “There are no specific instructions for us yet.” - See more at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/23/free-visas-30-nations-violates-law-may-not-fly.html#sthash.0laRtIy5.dpuf
While
the government recently said it would waive visa requirements for 30
countries starting in April, legal issues may delay its implementation
as an Indonesian law stipulates that visa exemptions could only be made
on a reciprocal basis.
Tourism Ministry’s spokesperson Vincent
Jemadu said that the ministry would propose the elimination of the
“reciprocity basis” clause, which could hamper implementation of the
visa-free privilege for the 30 countries.
The Immigration Law No.
6/2011 stipulates that the only foreigners who are allowed to enter
Indonesia without visas are citizens of countries that similarly don’t
require Indonesians to get tourist visas.
“In order to
effectively implement the visa-free policy we do need to revise this
law; otherwise we have to conduct a painstaking process of negotiation
for reciprocity,” Vincent said.
“We are planning to propose this
[revision] to the Law and Human Rights Ministry to support the
government’s plan to boost the country’s foreign exchange income from
the tourism industry,” he continued.
Through the visa-free
policy, the government aims to attract an additional 3 million tourists
this year, bringing the overall target up to 11 million tourists.
Malaysia,
which waives visa requirements for 164 countries without any
reciprocity basis, welcomed more than 27 million foreign tourist last
year.
As reported, the government would extend the visa-free
policy, which was initially set for China, Japan, South Korea and Russia
only, to 30 countries, including Canada, Mexico and the US.
Also
included on the list are European countries such as Austria, Belgium,
the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy,
the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK,
in addition to South Africa and Middle Eastern countries such as
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Currently,
tourists from these countries are still required to pay a US$35 fee for
a visa-on-arrival for a 30-day stay in Indonesia.
Law and Human
Rights Minister Yasonna H. Laoly earlier said that the government would
keep pushing the aforementioned countries to also adopt the visa-free
policy for the sake of reciprocity.
Pushing for reciprocity, however, will be a daunting task for the government.
French
Embassy press officer Gaspard Vignal said that Indonesia’s planned
visa-free policy would possibly attract more tourists from France to
Indonesia. “France is enthusiastic about this project; more French will
be able to come and visit Indonesia. For the reciprocity, however,
France is under the Schengen rule for visas. The country is not the only
one to decide,” he said.
Separately, Adam Rutland, the head of
media and communications at the British Embassy, said that the UK visa
requirement was given a regular review and there was no plan to change
the visa requirement yet.
Law and Human Rights Ministry’s acting
director general for immigration Tengku Syahrizal said that the ministry
was still waiting for an official direction regarding the
implementation of the visa-free policy, which was planned to come into
effect in April.
“Based on the law, it should be implemented on a
reciprocal basis, but the government has decided to waive visa
requirements, even though it is not in accordance to our law,” Tengku
said. “There are no specific instructions for us yet.” - See more at:
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/03/23/free-visas-30-nations-violates-law-may-not-fly.html#sthash.0laRtIy5.dpuf
