Hello,

My name is Johnny Gonzalez, and I’m the Deputy President of Digby Stuart College and an international student. For international students, coming to Roehampton to study can be an opportunity of a lifetime, and presents a huge opportunity for personal growth. Personally, my story is not unlike that of many of my friends. Being an international student puts you present to many new changes and challenges; you must begin to grow rapidly, because you understand your status here is not permanent. This story of growth is unique to each student, but for me, it was three years of creating a life for myself that will see me through the following years.

Part of that story is about where you make your home, where you see yourself in the years after uni. For me, I choose to stay here, but I know people who see that differently and others who are still figuring it out. We, as international students, support one another in our time here and in our time of growth. The only way we can work toward making such a big choice about where our futures lie, is by supporting one another.

However, that choice is being limited. The Home Secretary has ordered a review of the Graduate Student Visa route. For those who don’t know, this visa gives all international students 2 years in the UK to secure a "skilled" job that would be eligible for a Tier 2 workers visa. This time is crucial to all international students who need time to find a job that fits the criteria. It also does not help that the government is raising that criteria, making the minimum income requirement for a Tier 2 visa, £37,800 a year. This means it will be harder for international students to secure a worker's visa, for those who wish to stay in the UK. This would be devastating for international students, limiting their choices for their futures. The economic knockdown would worsen life for domestic students too, as international students contribute £ 41.9 billion pounds to the economy, it would make the cost-of-living crisis worse.

Now more than ever, we need to support one another. International students, domestic students, and everyone in the wider Roehampton community. There are some ways you can do that.

1 – Sign the petition the Commit to keeping the Graduate Visa Route - Petitions (parliament.uk). It calls on the Government to commit to keeping the Graduate Visa route - 

2 - Downlaod and Sign this open letter  - Template

3 - And send it to your local MPs, you can your  MP - https://members.parliament.uk/FindYourMP

3- Share this article to spread the word about it.

By doing this, you’re supporting our community of international students and their right to choose where their future lies.

Thank you so much for your support.