UK wants more Chinese grads to stay and work in tech

The UK remains one of Chinese students’ top three destinations for studying abroad, with 58,810 Chinese undergraduates studying in Britain in 2014. However, even if Chinese students want to stay in the UK to get a job they will have difficulty applying for a visa. Russ Shaw, the founder of Global Tech Advocates and Tech London Advocates says that the UK is now trying to “brain gain” these Chinese students, by providing Tier 2 visas to them.

Currently, most Chinese students go back home after graduating university in the UK. After studying at the University of Surrey in the UK, April Lin, a Chinese student also came back to Shanghai to start her career.

“I considered working in the UK for a little bit. I don’t know how hard it is to get a working visa there, but I do know it can be difficult,” April says. “In my opinion, more Chinese student-friendly policies, such as visa policies or policies related to a student’s well-being, would make more Chinese students stay in the UK and start their career.”

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