International briefing 23/01/25

Turing Scheme

Guidance for the fifth year of the Turing Scheme has been published. Applications will open in the first week of February and will be open for six weeks.

There are a few policy changes, including the welcome news that the funding can be used to participate in skills competitions (except for WorldSkills events). There is also the opportunity for shorter HE placements. All policy changes are outlined in this guidance.

The main policy changes are:

• Reduction of the minimum duration for an HE placement from 28 days to 14 days, with a view to benefiting more disadvantaged students.
• A limit to the amount of funding you can apply for (£205,000 per single application, £600,000 for a consortium, with no more than £205,000 per provider).
• Applications will be ranked and the highest ranked applications will be funded until the budget for the scheme is allocated. The DfE will aim to fund successful providers the full amount requested.
• Living costs contributions for FE students match those for school students.
• The funding can be used to participate in skills competitions (except for WorldSkills events).
• Eligibility of registered, non-profit organisations has been clarified.

Questions relating to the guidance can be raised by potential applicants via the enquiry form.

Remote Delivery Policy

The Home Office has published its remote delivery policy which you can read here.

Guidance updates are yet to go through final clearances and will be published as soon as possible. We will share any updates as they are released.

The policy is pertinent to Level 6 and above. Despite push back from organisations such as ourselves, Levels 3, 4 and 5 are not included in the policy. However, there is a concession around implementing remote delivery at these levels under exceptional circumstances, for example industrial action, extreme weather, periods of travel restriction.

Key policy points are:

• Higher Education Providers with a Track Record of Compliance will be permitted to deliver up to 20% of remote delivery on taught elements of courses that are at degree-level or above without needing to provide justification, and without needing to provide a list of said courses.
• Higher Education Providers with a Track Record of Compliance will be permitted to deliver between 21 – 40% of remote delivery on taught elements of courses that are at degree-level or above “where the sponsor is able to demonstrate how the higher usage is consistent with the requirements of the relevant educational quality standards body and remains consistent with the principles of the student route”.
• Courses where more than 40% of the course is delivered remotely will not be permitted under the Student route.
• Remote delivery may be permitted on courses of any level and with any sponsor in exceptional circumstances only.
• Remote delivery applies to all taught elements of the course and does not apply to non-taught elements.

AoC will continue to monitor the policy and its impact on courses below Level 6.

UKVI update on fee changes

Following a review of fees, the government has set out its intention to increase fees on various products and services, including:

• the ETA fee rising to £16
• The Certificate of Sponsorship on work routes rising to £525
• Naturalisation as a British citizen rising to £1,605
• A range of nationality services

The legislation will now be debated in Parliament and is subject to approval by both Houses.

If it is approved, the proposed new fees will be introduced by amending separate legislation, the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2018, as soon as Parliamentary time allows.