Review of skilled migration

19 January 2016

Commenting on the Migration Advisory Committee review of Tier 2 migration, Director-General of the Russell Group, Dr Wendy Piatt said:

“We are very disappointed with some of the recommendations the Migration Advisory Committee has made to the Government today which taken as a whole would have a disproportionate impact on our universities. We are particularly concerned about the proposal to introduce an immigration levy.

“Universities are different from other businesses – their core mission is to create knowledge, innovate and educate. It is essential our leading universities are able to attract the most talented individuals in their fields from anywhere in the world.

“The proposed immigration levy is essentially a tax on talent which would penalise universities for their success in bringing the world’s most talented people to the UK. It is far too simplistic to assume that universities can recruit more academic staff from the UK - this would require significantly more public investment in research and postgraduate education than is currently available.

“We understand the wish to reduce net migration but we must ensure our leading universities continue to attract the very best and brightest to remain globally competitive and help drive economic growth here in the UK.”

Note to Editors

1.  The Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) review of Tier 2 migration can be found here.
2. Our responses to the two consultations launched by the MAC can be found here and here.

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