By:
Vivek Mishra

HSBC and Deloitte have withdrawn job offers to foreign graduates in the UK due to stricter visa rules introduced by the government.

Sources familiar with the matter told the Financial Times that the two companies informed dozens of incoming staff in recent weeks about the revocation of their job offers. They attributed this decision to the UK government’s increase in the salary threshold for skilled worker visas.

Another multinational company, KPMG, had also cancelled contracts for some foreign graduates last month.

The government raised the salary threshold for skilled worker visas to £38,700 and to £30,960 for those under 26, aiming to reduce record levels of legal migration to the country.

HSBC’s decision affects “digital innovation” graduates who were supposed to work in its Sheffield office. One affected individual expressed disappointment, and told the newspaper, “Having spent £50,000 on attending university in the UK, I now have to go back to my home country.”

HSBC enlisted consultancy EY to assess individual cases and advise on visa eligibility changes, according to documents reviewed by the FT.

HSBC recruited 720 graduates last year, while Deloitte hired over 2,700 staff in the UK through various schemes.

Approximately 3 per cent of Deloitte’s autumn intake of graduates, around 35 people, had their offers withdrawn due to visa changes, a person briefed on the matter told the newspaper.

The Migration Advisory Committee cautioned against abolishing the graduate visa programme, which allows overseas students to work in the UK for two years after graduation. Immigration ranks among the top three voter concerns ahead of the upcoming general election.

The new skilled worker visa rules, announced in January, have left companies scrambling to manage the repercussions.

Some graduates whose offers were withdrawn received an automated message from HSBC’s human resources department, expressing regret for their departure from the selection process, the FT reported.

According to the newspaper, HSBC said that “due to changes in the rules covering those seeking sponsored visas to work in the UK we are unable to take forward a small number of offers to candidates as part of our graduate scheme this year. Whilst this is disappointing for both the candidates involved and for HSBC we are required to follow the regulations of every market we operate in. We are currently in discussions with those impacted.”