The UK’s graduate visa route is “not undermining” the integrity and quality of the higher education system and should remain in place, the Government’s migration advisers have said.

The independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) found no evidence of “significant abuse” of the route which allows international students to stay in the UK for two or three years after graduation.

The Government-commissioned review into the graduate route said it should remain in its current form as it continues to achieve its key objectives.

It comes after the Home Secretary said he wanted to ensure the route was “not being abused” and demand for study visas was “not being driven more by a desire for immigration rather than education”.

Commissioning the review in March, James Cleverly said the MAC should assess if the route was supporting the UK to attract and retain “the brightest and the best”.

The MAC review concluded that the graduate route is “not undermining the integrity of and quality of the UK higher education system” and is helping universities to make up for financial losses on domestic students and research through income from international tuition fees.

University leaders have called on ministers to end the “toxic” uncertainty over the future of the graduate route by announcing there will be no changes.

The committee said it was concerned about “potential exploitation” of international students due to poor practices by some agents recruiting people overseas who may be “mis-selling UK higher education”, but it stressed this is a separate issue from abuse of the graduate route.

There has been a “large increase” in the number of graduate visas granted since the route’s introduction in July 2021, the report found.

In 2023, 114,000 were granted for main applicants, with a further 30,000 for dependants, according to the MAC.

Take-up of the visas is largely concentrated among four nationalities – India, Nigeria, China and Pakistan – which account for 70% of graduate visas, with India accounting for over 40%.

Graduate visa holders are initially “overrepresented in lower-paid work”, but their outcomes improve over time, the report said.

The MAC review was unable to assess the risk of overstaying due to a lack of Home Office data.

The report warned: “The potential poor practice by some agents recruiting international students does risk undermining the integrity of higher education in the UK.”

In February, Universities UK (UUK) said it would review international student admissions processes following the allegations of “bad practice” by agents recruiting overseas students.

The MAC has recommended that the Government should establish a mandatory registration system for international recruitment agents, and universities should be required to publish data on their use of agents to “help protect the integrity” of the UK higher education system.

Professor Brian Bell, chairman of the MAC, said: “Our review recommends the graduate route should remain as it is, and is not undermining the quality and integrity of the UK’s higher education system.

“The graduate route is a key part of the offer that we make to international students to come and study in the UK.

“The fees that these students pay helps universities to cover the losses they make in teaching British students and doing research.

“Without those students, many universities would need to shrink and less research would be done.”

In March, Mr Cleverly said the Government would consider the MAC’s analysis into the route “with a view to implementing any changes in due course”.

Vivienne Stern, chief executive of UUK, said “The MAC’s recommendation that the graduate route should remain on its current terms is extremely important and welcome.

“The uncertainty caused by the decision to review the visa has been toxic,” she said.

“We hope and expect that Government now listens to the advice they have been given and provides categorical reassurance that the graduate visa is here to stay.”

Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group, which represents some of the most selective institutions in the UK, said: “We recognise concerns around the behaviour of some agents and we would support targeted measures to address this.

“However, the overall message from the MAC is that the graduate route is achieving its objectives as set out by the Government.

“We would therefore urge ministers to end the uncertainty and confirm as soon as possible that the route will continue in its entirety.”

A Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to attracting the best and brightest to study at our world-class universities, whilst preventing abuse of our immigration system, which is why the Home Secretary commissioned an independent review of the graduate route.

“We have already taken decisive action to address unsustainable levels of migration and our plans are working, with a 24% drop in visa applications across key routes in the first three months of this year, compared with the same period last year.

“We are considering the review’s findings very closely and we will respond fully in due course.”