Now that PSW tier 1 is abolished from april 2012, what should the international applicants for Full-time MBA Fall 2011 intake decide? Is it better to apply to US or Canadian universities for next year?
Well definitely, the MBA students in UK want to look for jobs after the course to get some work experience before returning to their home countries. Should'nt be mandatory for B-school to guarantee placement after MBA?
I feel with these new UKBA amendments, the rules of the game will change drastically both for the applicants and the UK B-schools.

The Independent (UK Daily) still maintains that the PSW has not been scrapped off. I spoke to the admissions team at the Kingston University and they said the same. They believe the PSW wont be closed for PG courses like the MBA. They have advised that we wait till 6th April to know the exact details.

I don't know what to believe till the UKBA officially updates their website. There might be a lot more in the fine print yet. Fingers Crosses X

The present position of things is generating unpleasant outcomes: prospective applicants are not sure if UK is still a likely destination for further studies; present PG students are being denied work/job opportunities... i have been informed that some organizations cited the change in PSV rules and the uncertainty of the present position of things as the main reason for denying intl job applicants job places. Organizations would not want to employ and spend/sponsor any intl student whose stay in the UK is not certain. The situation is not pleasant.
Well, as Asif noted, we will have to keep our hands crossed until an official announcement is made on it by the Govt and on the UKborder agency site.

Thanks for your comments. The UKBA is going to publish new visa rules on its website on 31st March. Moreover, the visa fees is also going to be revised w.e.f. 6th april to 255 GBP instead of present 220 GBP.
There does not seem to be any doubt as far as UK governments' decision is concerned.
You are right in saying that companies are paranoid in offering international / Asian MBA students job offers due to visa uncertainty.
Hence, in this scenario, does it make any sense to invest on our MBA education in UK?

OK! some more info for discussion.

For UK-based employers to hire an international student after graduation, they'll first need to certify that such talent/expertise for the particular job is not avaiable within UK and EU before hiring him/her. UK is also planning to limit the TIER 2 visas to 20,000 per year. Seems like UK is not open to business anymore!

The UKBA website has confirmed that there will be no Resident Labour Market Test for the companies who want to employ international students under tier 2 visa next year (once PSW is scrapped).....hence the above comment "of companies needing to specify non-availability of resident labour before hiring international migrants" no longer holds. Students graduating next year will have free access to UK market for 4 months after completing their degree (before their student visa expires)........At least some relief after the devastation of the PSW. lol

are we expecting the final verdict from UKBA in next week? How can one know the final set of changes made by UKBA?

The details will be there on the UKBA website.

My view is that the UK is effectively now closed to all non-EU students finding a job after graduation. So the US for sure (and maybe Canada and Australia but not familiar with their rules) may be more attractive.

I would be wary of the messages coming out of UK schools. It will take time for junior staff to be briefed on the changes. And in any event they won't want to tell you the reality for fear of losing you.

But it is clear that the UKBA are going to stop non-EU citizens coming to the UK. And if the recent changes don't work, tougher ones will be in place by time you graduate.

If this is now the case, then prospective students should be wary of the tactics of marketing officers of UK colleges and Universities who travel around the globe calling for applications into programmes offered at their various institutions. Most of these officers would most probably conceal certain UKBA related information from these category of students in order to prevent losing them. UK is simply getting unfriendly to non-EU students

Agree. But dont expect them to be 100% honest. Not only do they need the income with the Government cuts, the rules are changing so rapidly it must be tough to keep up. But the intent from the UKBA is crystal clear, even if the details of the implementation are not.

At last, the cat is out of the box! we all now know very well the intents of UKBA and we can imagine its repercussions on the non-EU students.
It no longer makes any sense to spend huge amounts of our hard-earned money to get a UK degree knowing very well that the degree cannot get us a job!!!
What is it worth then?

Well to be clear, the degree may well represent a very good, even world-class, business education. And, depending on the uni, may well help get you a job. But it will be very unlikely that a non-EU citizen will get a job in the UK.

Dont believe the nonsense about a tier 2 route as an alternative to the tier 1 post-study work visa. Less than 15% of companies in the UK have the right to sponsor tier 2 visas. And there is a monthly cap in the UK on how many visas can be issued. So even if you do find a job and company willing to go through the hassle of sponsoring you, whether or not the visa is approved is going to be random.

The UKBA is very explicit in their intent to massively reduce the number of non-EU citizens getting a job in the UK, one way or another.

All said and done about the UK issue, the question most of us are left with is: "whether to accept our offers this year or not?"

The answer is tricky. Experts believe that it is going to get tougher in UK in the coming years (education as well as employment). So, either take the initiative now and go for it, or look elsewhere for alternatives.

I dont think Australia is an alternative. They lost 80 billion dollars last year in the education sector because of known issues (the same can happen to UK now). Australia's loss however was UK's gain over the last few years, and that has in my opinion resulted in closure of the PSW scheme (there is a flood of Indian and Chinese migrants in UK; migrants who took the study route).

Now with UK not welcoming international students (who are mostly from China and India), we could see a mad rush for Canadian and US universities in the coming years (not that it wasnt there already). In that case, be prepared to see US and Canada tighten their requirements soon.

So the answer is: either go to UK this year (you at least beat the 2012 fee hike this way), or alternatively, go to US or Canada (this year). Who knows, next year we might get to see some more drama. After all, education as well as employment is getting tougher day by day.

I try to find answers to why the UK is tighting her immigration requirements. Are international students not source(s) of revenue to UK universities and her economy? International students pay higher fees, spend a lot on living expenses, and contribute meaningfully to every area/sector of the UK economy during their stay. What exactly is the issue with international students? Are international students taking up jobs reserved for UK/EU citizens? Why dont the UK govt ensure that the 1/2 year(s) post study visa is enforced strictly instead of closing it completely. I believe it is not all international students who want to reside in the UK forever. There are many international students who in the UK for legitimate reasons.

It is a conservative government in power. They want to take more and give less. Also, the tighter rules have come in place because of asians in the UK. I know of many cases where people take petty English courses, secure a 2 year PSW, work in menial jobs and thus abuse the system. (all with the intent of earning a quick buck)

I have a feeling that UK does not like Asians anymore...lol....It is a fact that India and China alone represent nearly 85% of most MBA classes in top UK universities. When these people graduate, they flood the market and take all the jobs meant for UK and EU residents (highly skilled jobs as well as low skilled jobs). The higher fees for international students does not deter the government since they feel that Int students will still come to UK to seek high-class education in reputed universities (of which there are less in their own countries). That can be a way of looking at it, what do you think?

@asif.nazir7985. I agree. All stems back to a promise made by the Conservatives during the election campaign.

Although apparently the Business Secretary - who is not Conservative - apparently is very worried that international students will take their money and go elsewhere. But appears like the UKBA is doing things and the rest of the Government just has to go along with it.

all this can wipe off most UK B-schools from the FT and the Economist rankings. Post MBA employment is an essential criteria in rankings and UK B-schools have 80% international student presence. If this 80% fails to find the (desired) employment after MBA, it will reflect on the performance of the B-school. I may do my MBA from a UK-based, FT ranked business school this year, but a year down the line my b-school will be just another b-school (not ranked or reputed). I 'll feel let down if that happens.....

I very much doubt they will be wiped off the FT rankings. In reality if the graduates are any good, they will get a job somewhere in the world. So the % employed stat probably wont change much. And since the FT uses PPP when calculating salary information for the rankings, even if all these jobs are in a relatively low paying economy that wont count against the school. (I believe the economist just takes straight starting salary, so the UK schools will go down this ranking I would have thought).

In any event, given the fees that we have to pay to attend a top business school, it obviously makes a difference where we get a job and our ability to repay the loan. So we may well want to take a look at another high-paying location with less work-permit restrictions.