Last week I attended a town hall organized by University of the Arts London guided toward listening to UAL international student voices. Some students expressed the concern that they were not being given the same opportunities domestic students were getting. Between not receiving support to adapt different modes of learning, communication barriers, and limits to what you’re allowed to do as an IS, quite a few students rose to say they wished there was more support for them.
Town hall organizers addressed concerns, and when I asked why can’t IS be self employed, the brief answer was “tax liabilities and bureaucracy”, which were to barriers I’m willing to break through my project.
The town hall was followed by Q&A session with Sheryar Khan, an immigration lawyer from Connaught Law Firm. Sheryar first gave an informational presentation regarding the new Post Study Work visa for international students. The PSW visa is meant to give ISs the option to stay in the UK for up to two years after graduation. Two years where they’ll face no restrictions regarding what they wish to do in the UK, which means they’ll be able to do anything from being self-employed to bartend, if they wish. In Sheryar’s words, the visa is “to give ISs a leveled plain field after graduation”.
The UK government introduced the PSW visa after listening to the difficulties a great share of their graduate population was facing after completing their studies, demonstrating that they are willing to listen ISs’ issues in order to create a better work environment in the nation, especially since it is likely that EU students will soon join the IS population given Brexit.
This gave me hope that pushing forward a movement promoting self-employment rights for ISs is an issue the UK government might be willing to listen to in order to allow international creatives, and the entire ISs population, to earn what they deserve from their works.
*Cool note! Sheryar Khan is part of the Connaught Law Firm – UK immigration specialists that answer questions regarding immigration and work on pro-bono cases for international students.