Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has bowed to pressure from some of his senior cabinet colleagues over proposed changes to the graduate visa scheme.

Reports had suggested he planned on either shortening or scrapping the two-year period students could stay in the country after completing their studies, as he faced increasing pressure from the right of his party to lower record-high legal migration.

However, Sky News understands the period will remain in place after appeals from Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan and Home Secretary James Cleverly, who are all said to have raised concerns on the impact on universities and the economy if the rules are changed.

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There will be some additional measures announced by the government this week to coincide with the latest net migration figures being published, Sky News also understands.

They will include the tightening of restrictions on agents that market British degree courses overseas and subjecting some international students to mandatory English tests.

But Mr Sunak is still likely to face a backlash from the likes of former home secretary Suella Braverman, who today called for the whole graduate visa route to be scrapped, and ex-immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who has appealed to the government to introduce stricter measures on illegal migration.

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