Members of the UEA University of Sanctuary initiative are currently leading a research project, focusing on international researchers’ experience in visiting UK universities and how this may have changed (where applicable) over the past 10 years. The project seeks to gather and analyse qualitative data on the Visitor Visa Compliance procedures of universities across the UK, including the UEA, with a particular focus on International Development departments. The aims of the research project are to evaluate how UK universities communicate with visiting international researchers, and to provide some measure of the impact of immigration rules and policies on international researcher numbers and willingness to collaborate. This includes an exploration of the perceptions and experiences, both positive and negative, of a range of international visitors within the context of UKVI legislation and rules, UCEA guidance, interactions with visa centres in countries of origin, access to visa services in the UK and references to the creation of a ‘hostile environment’.
To find out more about the project, please email Ulrike Theuerkauf.