Last but not least in my SWOT analysis… some threats my project faces.
Unpaid taxes could get international students in trouble
The last intention my project could have is to get any international student in trouble, including trouble due to not claiming income and paying taxes wrongly. Bottom line, not following through with the responsibilities of having a sole-trader license can bring consequences with Customs (HMRC).
Gatekeepers – Conservative views on immigration by MPs and legislators
As is the case with politics, there are legislators at all sides of the political spectrum, including when it comes to policies around immigration. Currently, out of the 650 seats in the House of Commons consists of 360 seats being held by Conservative MPs, followed b7 199 seats by the Labor Party. Conservatives, generally speaking, tend to hold more reserved views when it comes to immigration; them holding a majority in the House of Commons could present a challenge when seeking to pass a policy centered in easing working restrictions on Student visas.
For example, Priti Patel MP, Secretary of State for the Home Department, is not exactly known for her openness toward immigrants. In March 2021, she delivered a speech where she expressed her firm thoughts on immigration, stating remarks such as:
Some still deny that immigration could ever be excessive, inanely claiming that it is only ever a question of adequate investment.
This is to deny reality.
People across the country do not want their communities and way of life to change beyond recognition.
And yet acknowledging this is not to be “anti-immigration”.
Neither I, the Prime Minister or our great country are anti-immigration.
And to those who say that I am – they are wrong.”
– Priti Patel
Highlighting that’s she’s been referred to as an anti-immigration and generalizing that people would feel like their communities would change “beyond recognition” without stricter immigration policies, she could be a strong force against easing some visa restrictions.
However, later in her speech, she also said,
Now we can prioritise skill and talent over where someone comes from.
We know that high-skilled migration helps foster innovation – that’s important for the UK’s economic growth.
But we know that they always need access to global talent.
This is why the system is designed to keep the UK at the forefront of innovation.
We are introducing bespoke routes to enable more students, scientists, academics, investors, and entrepreneurs to come here.”
– Priti Patel
Which makes way to a potential openness to high-skill students to establish their independent business if meeting the right criteria.
Another important political figure on immigration is Kevin Foster MP, Minister for Future Borders and Immigration, who is also a conservative. He has responsibilities such as “current and future visa system including fees” and “immigration rules” (GOV.UK). Kevin Foster oversees visas for students such as the newly introduced Graduate Route visa, and stated that “As we rebuild from the global pandemic we want the world’s brightest talent, who aspire to a career at the highest levels of business, science, the arts and technology to see our United Kingdom as the natural place to fulfill their aspirations” (Foster, 2021). This statement was made as an encouragement to get the number of international students in the country to 600,000 by 2030, per the UK’s International Education Strategy.
Above are two examples displaying the complexity of Conservative MP’s views, making it hard to predict the support of a bill legalizing self-employment for international students among Conservatives.
Aware that to hypothesise that Conservatives would be less likely to support my campaign and that the Labour Party (or any political party left of center) would be more likely is a big generalization, I will further my research into relevant political party members’ views as each requires a different approach.
Lack of government spending in the creative industries
Earlier this year the Office for Students (OfS) caused a stir when it was announced that there would be a sharp 50% funding cut to arts courses around the UK (Office for Students, 2021). The UK government has taken several actions reflecting that they prioritise STEM courses to support the high skilled worker in such fields, claiming it is a strategy to strengthen what the UK needs most at the moment.
Filled with controversy (and questionable ad campaigns recommending that ballerinas should find jobs in cyber), the UK government, aided by the OfS and Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, made it clear that the arts are not a priority in their agenda.
My campaign is largely focused on creative internationals students through Inter.work, so the reluctance to further support the arts presents a problem. This is a focus as creatives are likely to freelance at higher rates than those in other fields (Baruah, Robertson, 2020).
Calling out people who have freelanced “under the table”
As with many restrictions and actions prohibited by laws, some will be broken, and Freelancing as an international student is no exception. It’s difficult to reach out to international students who may share that have been freelancing, but it can be supposed that there are students out there who’ve sold their work.
As it’s understood, international students have higher expenses when it comes to tuition, traveling to their home countries, purchasing household items and clothing from scratch as much of it does not fit in a couple of suitcases, etc. So, from a personal perspective, it would be harsh to assume international students would currently freelance for the sake of gaining large profits or have the intention of breaking a visa restriction. Many may not even be aware of such restrictions. Why a student would accept money from freelancing varies from case to case.
Given that my project addresses the issue of legalizing freelancing under a student visa, I am afraid I would bring to the governments’ radar any student who receives money for their work. As with the first point made under the “threats” list, that’s my last intention.
References
Baruah, R. and Robertson, B. (2021). What do creative arts graduates do? [online] Prospects Luminate. Available at: https://luminate.prospects.ac.uk/what-do-creative-arts-graduates-do.
Ellen, B. (2021). How creative of the Tories to invent a culture war to disguise arts cuts | Barbara Ellen. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/08/how-creative-of-the-tories-to-invent-a-culture-war-to-disguise-arts-cuts.
Foster, K. (2021). Graduate route to open to international students on 1 July 2021. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/graduate-route-to-open-to-international-students-on-1-july-2021.
GOV.UK (n.d.). Kevin Foster MP. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/people/kevin-foster.
Office for Students (2021). What is really going on with arts funding in higher education? – Office for Students. [online] www.officeforstudents.org.uk. Available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-and-events/press-and-media/arts-funding-in-higher-education/.
Patel, P. (2021). Home Secretary Priti Patel speech on immigration. [online] GOV.UK. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/home-secretary-priti-patel-speech-on-immigration.