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Most international postgraduate students return to their home country very soon after finishing their programme. After one, two or three years away this is usually a very exciting time, and most students, and their family and friends, look forward to the return. There are a number of issues that students face at this time, though.
First, you may feel you do not wish to return to your own country except to visit family and friends. It may be that you have made many friends in the UK and have settled into British life. It may be that you feel you would like to stay and work in the UK. Or you may feel that, although you do not necessarily want to stay in the UK, you would like to follow your career in a different country.
Staying in the UK is not usually an option for most postgraduates, so if you wish to stay you need to plan this carefully. In granting you a visa to come to the UK as a student the British government will have required you to confirm your intention to leave the UK at the end of your study programme. When your student visa expires, therefore, you will have to return home unless:
• You accept a place on a new study programme and apply for a new student visa. You may be able to do this while you are here in the UK, but you may have to return home to do this anyway.
• You get a job and your employer is able to apply for a work permit for you. To be given a work permit your employer will need to show that there was no suitable applicant from the UK or the EU for the job, so you are likely to get a work permit only if you are employed in a skilled or professional job or where there is a shortage of qualified people in that field in the UK.
• You apply to stay in the UK under one of the government schemes designed to use the skills of overseas postgraduates in fields where there are shortages of UK graduates. The following schemes are available in the UK:
–The International Graduates Scheme (IGS) which enables international students who have successfully completed a UK degree or postgraduate studies to remain in the UK for up to 12 months to pursue a career opportunity.
– If you already have permission under IGS when the ‘Post Study Work’ category of the Tier 1 of the planned new Points-Based System comes into force (in the first half of 2008), you will be able to apply to change to the new scheme for one extra year’s permission to work. The ‘Post Study Work’ category will replace IGS and the Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme.
– The ‘Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme’, which enables those with a good first degree, a Masters or a Doctorate from a Scottish university to apply to stay to work in Scotland for a period of up to two years.
In March 2006 the UK government announced that it will replace its current regulations on granting visas to those wishing to come from outside the EEA to work in the UK. TThe new regulations are being introduced over a period of time from 2007 onwards. Details of the new arrangements will be available on the UK Border Agency website which is a useful source of detailed information about all aspects of seeking to remain in the UK to work.
• You get a visa as a visitor. This will only allow you to stay in the UK for a short period of time, and does not give you permission to get a job. However, it is a way of staying for a while to be with friends and perhaps take a holiday.
Moving to another country, of course, depends upon the entry and work regulations for that country. To find out information about this you should contact the embassy or consulate of the country that you are considering moving to.
Secondly, you will be aware that you have been away from home for some time. Family life, your friends, your own town or city, and the national economic and political scene will have ‘moved on’ while you have been away. This means that you will need at least a short time when you return to catch up with the changes. It may take a few meetings for you to settle back into the relationships you have with friends and family. Some of the changes will have been exciting and positive ones. Others may be less easy to adjust to. The important thing, though, is to be prepared to take a little time to adjust.
Thirdly, you will have changed in yourself. Whether you have been away for one year or three years you will have changed in many ways. You will, of course, have your postgraduate degree, but you will also have had many new experiences, both from living in the UK and from being a little older. You need to be aware that you will have changed and that it is a different ‘you’ who is going home. This may change the way you see life in your own country and may also change the way that friends and family see you. Most postgraduates report that this is all a very positive aspect of studying abroad, and the changes make them value very much their own country, life, friends and family.
If you came to the UK with a family, then readjusting to life in your own country will be a challenge for your partner or children, too. They will need to re-establish their routines and friendships, just as you will have to. Children are often very concerned about returning home. For them, even a year away is a very long time, and they will have settled into school and made close friends in the UK. However, they often find it very easy to settle back into life at home, just as they usually adjust quickly to life in the UK when they first arrive. Most children make friends easily, and the experience of living in another country often gives them confidence in dealing with changes. They will certainly find that their achievement in their English language classes back home is very high!
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