Scotland’s first minister, John Swinney, has proposed the creation of a new, dedicated visa for international graduates from Scottish universities or colleges who want to stay in Scotland after their studies.

The Scottish Government said that the ‘Scottish Graduate Visa’ would be linked to a Scottish tax code and be based on a requirement to live and work in Scotland. 

The new visa would be granted for up to two years, acting as a bridge between the Study and Graduate visas and the Skilled Worker Visa, giving international students an additional two years to gain the professional experience required to qualify for roles on the Skilled Worker Visa route.

Speaking at JP Morgan Chase & Co in Glasgow, the first minister set out how a tailored visa route for students who have completed their studies could help tackle population challenges in Scotland and grow the economy. 

“The pragmatic approach I am setting out today when it comes to migration is an attractive proposition for international students and will ensure they can gain experience as they work towards the high salary threshold for a Skilled Worker Visa,” said Swinney.

“I urge the UK Government to work with us – not dismiss this proposal out of hand – to ensure that we can attract and retain those students and graduates to Scotland, so that they can continue to contribute to our economy and society.”

In his speech outlining the Scottish Government’s vision, Swinney said that the plans would help to grow the entrepreneurial sector in Scotland, and maintain the country’s position as an attractive destination for private investment.

According to the first minister, introducing a new graduate visa route would also strengthen Scotland’s higher education sector, address skills shortages, increase productivity, and drive innovation.

Speaking about the need for closer ties between the UK and Europe following what he called the ‘disastrous’ Brexit vote, Swinney paid thanks to the young people that have settled here from abroad who have helped grow the economy, but warned the country needed to bolster its working population further by retaining skilled immigrants.

“All of this would go some way to ensuring that Scotland can continue to attract and retain international students,” continued Swinney.

“It would benefit our colleges and our universities before their graduation and it would benefit our economy after their graduation. Indeed, the latest available figures show international students generate £4.75 billion for the Scottish economy.”

However, as migration is a reserved issue, developing and delivering the Scottish Graduate Visa would require the cooperation of the UK Government ahead of it coming into force.

The UK previously had a tailored migration route based on geography, with the previous Scottish and UK Governments establishing the ‘Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland’ scheme in 2005.

That scheme offered a post-study visa route for international students in Scotland which ran from 2005 to 2008 and was then replaced by a UK-wide post study work route before being disbanded in 2012.

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The UK visa system has been in debate following Labour’s General Election win in July. In October, the new Government set out its proposals for a simplified visa scheme for migrants with AI skills, hoping that it would bolster its AI plans as well as attract talent and investment to the UK, though since then the Government has been under pressure to curb migration further.

However, during a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos today, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the UK Government will publish an immigration white paper that will include a review of such visas for tech workers, saying: “We are going to look again at routes for the highest skilled people, visas particularly in the areas of AI and life sciences.”