American pensioners are enrolling at Scottish universities to secure student visas and escape Trump's America

From the Newshound archive · first published 11 October 2026.

Retired Americans are exploiting student visa loopholes to relocate to Scotland, with immigration lawyers reporting a surge in inquiries from pensioners enrolling in postgraduate courses purely to gain residency. Jacqueline Moore, a partner at Thorntons Solicitors with 25 years of experience, says she has seen a clear trend of retired Americans obtaining student visas for masters programmes.

Moore confirmed that older independent-means and investor visas that once offered a simpler route have been scrapped, leaving the student visa as one of few remaining options.