Immigration rules for students
are 'unrealistic' Universities warn

By Charles Kelly

18 March 2008

The Times reports that proposed new immigration rules that will require educational institutions to report all overseas students who miss lectures are unworkable, according to universities.

Under the new points-based immigration system, universities and colleges are required to inform the Border and Immigration Agency (BIA) if a non EU student is absent from study for more than ten working days without "reasonably granted permission".

Institutions must report on foreign students who do not turn up to enrol or who are suspected of breaching the conditions of their visas.

The new rules, which come into force early next year, also require educational establishments to retain up-to-date information on students including mobile numbers and copies of passports, and to share these with the BIA.

Institutions which fail to meet these requirements risk having their licences to educate overseas students revoked or downgraded.

Diana Warwick, chief executive of Universities UK, told the House of Lords recently that universities would be the "largest volume users" of the new system.

Alan Mackay, international officer at the University of Edinburgh, said:

"We are very concerned about the lack of detail on the implementation of the rules. What if a student does not attend for ill-health reasons and forgets to inform us? What happens during vacation periods? What about PhD students who are writing up?"

He added:

"Besides the massive increase in administration costs, what kind of a welcome message is this level of monitoring going to be sending out to students?"

Sir Howard Davies, director of the London School of Economics, which accepts 4,600 international students per year, has written to the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills expressing concerns about the proposals.

In a second letter to David Willetts, Shadow Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, Sir Howard said that the monitoring proposals were "unrealistic", particularly for masters and PhD students. Monitoring should be based on termly progress rather than attendance, he suggested.

He warned that a more complicated and costly admissions process would deter applicants.

"We genuinely believe that the details of the proposal ... are very troublesome and could have a material impact on our ability to attract and retain good-quality overseas students," Sir Howard said.

International students bring £4.7 billion to the UK economy according to Home Office figures. Mr Willetts predicts that the new arrangements would make the Prime Minister's aims of attracting an extra 70,000 international students to UK universities by 2011 and improving student satisfaction ratings far more difficult to achieve.

Mr Willetts said:

"The Home Office in planning this system has failed to understand how our universities operate. It's important to keep out people who don't have a claim to be in the country, but equally we have to protect our universities, which are actively seeking foreign students - these cumbersome regulations fail to do that."

These new rules, when combined with over zealous Entry Clearance Officers at British Embassy posts who unlawfully refuse thousands of student visas each year which are later overturned on appeal, are sending out an entirely negative message to people who wish to study in the UK.

The Government should be encouraging the best young minds to bring their talents, and money, to the UK.