Mr Green also announced that he wanted to break the link between temporary and permanent migration and look at the way courts interpret the human right to family life, which he said has led to a “ridiculous and damaging situation” and risks a “dangerous” stand off between parliament and judges.

The government is also proposing to set a minimum income level for any sponsor seeking to bring in a foreign spouse – and said the recommended level was between £18,600 and £25,700.

The news will be of grave concern to the thousands of skilled workers on Work Permits and Tier 2 Working Visas who are earning less than £31,000.

Whilst the UK has never guaranteed working migrants permanent residency under the terms of their work permits, most were expecting to one day qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after working in Britain for 5 years.

The Minister has not announced any transitional arrangements for those already here. But if the new rules are applied to all existing migrants, the minimum threshold would not be reached by most nurses, senior carers, chefs, care managers and many other occupations where the basic pay rate is less than £31,000.

Some of the questions being asked are:

• Will the new earnings test apply to all existing work permit holders or new entrants after a certain point?
• Does my dependant husband’s income count towards the minimum salary requirement?
• How long do I have to be earning £31,000 for or is it my current salary level that counts?
• If I cannot qualify for ILR will I be able to extend my work permit after 5 years?
• If I have children born in the UK do I have a right to stay under Article 8?

The answer to most of these questions are only known to ministers and Home Office officials at this stage because full details of the reforms have not yet been revealed.

The government is committed to reducing net migration to the ‘tens of thousands’ by 2015 and major reforms to the immigration points based system will be needed to reach these targets.

The changes do not affect EU migrants from Eastern European countries such as Poland and Slovakia, or Bulgarians and Romanians exercising Treaty Rights to obtain Yellow Cards.

See also:

Settlement in UK to be linked to a minimum salary of £31,000 says Immigration Minister

Human rights decisions led to ‘ridiculous and damaging’ situation, says UK Immigration Minister

Romanian workers offered UK jobs while 2.7 million claim benefits

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Mr Green said the situation is “not healthy for anyone” and calls the whole concept of human rights in to question.

The Government is currently examining how parliament can provide clearer guidance on how Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights show be interpreted with a view to restricting its use.

It follows concerns that foreign criminals and other illegal immigrants are able to use the right too easily to fight deportation.

In 2010, more than 400 criminals were allowed to stay in the UK after winning appeals, mainly on human rights grounds such as the right to family life.

Last month, it emerged Theresa May, the Home Secretary, is drawing up plans to stop illegal immigrants using time spent in Britain unlawfully to bolster their claims to stay.

She aims to stop those facing deportation demanding a right to family life because of the length of time they have been in the country, when most of it was spent here illegally.

In a speech to the think tank Policy Exchange in London, Mr Green said most people would not agree that rights had been breached in many recent high profile cases.

“That leads to the ridiculous and damaging situation where the whole concept of Human Rights is called into question,” he said.

“This is not healthy for anyone. It is also dangerous for there to be a long-term stand-off between Parliament and the judges, which is why we want to give better Parliamentary guidance on what should be considered in these kind of cases in future.”

In a wide ranging speech on immigration, Mr Green also revealed some high earning migrants may be allowed to take up jobs in the UK without them first being advertising to others.

Under the resident labour market test, employers looking to recruit from outside the EU must first advertise for a month in jobcentres.

But Mr Green is keen to make it easier for the most talented migrants to come and has asked the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to look at the issue.

He is also considering allowing talented “entrepreneurial” international students the ability to stay on and continue to develop their ideas after their studies.

It is part of the Government’s bid to redefine the foundation of immigration policies to ensure the brightest and best can still come.

He said immigrants must “add to the quality of life in Britain” if they wish to live here and not just “benefit by Britain”.

The Government has pledged to cut net migration from the current 242,000 to the “tens of thousands” last seen in the 1990s, with crackdowns on forced and sham marriages, bogus students and an annual cap on immigrants coming from outside the EU.

The MAC, the Government’s immigration advisers, found there were up to 23 fewer jobs for British workers for every additional 100 working migrants coming from outside the EU. Source: The Telegraph.

The UK is set introduce a minimum earnings figure of £31,000 in order to qualify for permanent settlement or Indefinite Leave to Remain, the Immigration Minister announced yesterday.

Mr Green also told the BBC that he was proposing to set a minimum income level for any sponsor seeking to bring in a foreign spouse – and said the recommended level from MAC (Migration Advisory Committee) was between £18,600 and £25,700.

See also:

Settlement in UK to be linked to a minimum salary of £31,000 says Immigration Minister

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

• Further changes to family migration
• Reforms to settlement and greater selectivity
• Breaking the link between temporary and permanent migration
• Completing changes to eliminate abuse of the student visa route
• review of the annual limit on skilled economic Tier 2 migrants
• Contribution-based system rather than points-based

As expected, the UK Border Agency has confirmed earlier rumours published by Immigration Matters on reforming the route to settlement with the creation of a ‘sustainable selective immigration system that encourages the brightest and best to come to the UK’.

At a speech at the Policy Exchange, the Immigration Minister Damian Green expressed a desire to ‘raise the tone of the immigration debate’ and start building a national consensus on how immigration can be made to work for Britain.

He will be pressing on with sweeping reforms that impose restrictions on those migrants the country does not need, while developing a greater selectivity to attract those migrants the country wants.

Damian Green said:

‘We need to know not just that the right number of people are coming here, but that the right people are coming here. People that will benefit Britain – not just those who will benefit by Britain.

‘We have laid the foundations for a sustainable system where we get numbers down and keep them down. Now we shall make it work for Britain.’

The government has committed to reduce net migration numbers from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands. In the latest published quarterly figures, compared to a year previously, there are early signs of a positive impact on numbers following restrictions imposed by this government on non-EEA workers and students.

The government will soon be announcing further changes to family migration and reforms to settlement, breaking the link between temporary and permanent migration or UK naturalisation and citizenship. It will also be completing its changes to eliminate abuse of the student visa route and is currently reviewing the annual limit on skilled economic migrants.

In his speech the Minister expressed his intention that the long-term transformation of British immigration policy will introduce greater selectivity.

He added that the ‘points based system’ of the past should ultimately be replaced by a ‘contribution-based system’ where migrants are checked to ensure they will add to quality of life in the UK.

This is already starting with the development of more selective routes for entrepreneurs, investors and those with exceptional talent alongside existing routes for entertainers, trainees and researchers.

The Minister confirmed the introduction of a new route for international graduate entrepreneurs – international students who have engaged in innovative entrepreneurial activity during their studies and want to stay on afterwards to develop their business ideas.

The government will also improve the system for some short-term business visitors and entertainers to ensure world-class performers are encouraged to come to the UK. Source: UK Border Agency.

In an earlier interview with BBC Radio Kent Mr Green said he wanted ‘to be much more intelligently selective about who we let come here”.

He added:

‘Anyone individual seeking permanent settlement should be able to command a salary of between £31,000 and £49,000.’

Mr Green also told the BBC that he was proposing to set a minimum income level for any sponsor seeking to bring in a foreign spouse – and said the recommended level from MAC (Migration Advisory Committee) was between £18,600 and £25,700.

The news will come as a bitter blow to the thousands of skilled workers on Work Permits and Tier 2 Working Visas who were expecting to one day qualify for indefinite leave to remain (ILR), although the Minister has not announced any transitional arrangements for those already here.

If applied to existing migrants, the minimum threshold would affect nurses, senior carers, chefs, care managers and many other occupations where the basic pay rate is less than £31,000.

See also:

How will the new ‘minimum salary for residency’ proposals affect you?

Britain will limit settlement to ‘brightest and best’ migrants under new plans

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

The London Olympic Games will be the biggest ever event that the UK has hosted and millions of visitors are expected during the busy summer period in 2012.

London Olympic Games

The UKBA or British Embassy postings will process applications and will issue your visa with a start date that will cover you for the whole Olympic and Paralympic Games period, provided you meet the requirements.

You can use the Do I need a visa? Questionnaire and guide to find out if you need to apply for a visa. If you are coming to watch the Games as a visitor, you will be allowed to stay in the UK for up to 6 months in most cases.

It should be noted that those seeking jobs overseas cannot work on a tourist visa.

See the Olympic and Paralympic Games section for more information.

Souce: UK Border Agency.

See also:

Could David Cameron’s EU veto spell the end of ‘free movement of labour rights’ and mass immigration from Eastern Europe?

Illegal immigrants find loophole to get in to UK on a Eurostar train from Lille straight into London St Pancras

UK net migration at record high

Employment restrictions for Bulgarians and Romanians extended until end of 2013

EU and non-EU workers take more UK jobs as number of Britons in work plunges

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Applicants in the UK will not be able to submit applications, book appointments, pay for their applications online, or use the ‘application form finder’ tool.

‘Apply online’ in the UK is the only service that will be affected. Applicants outside the UK will still be able to apply online using our Visa4UK service.

The UKBA apologises for any inconvenience this may cause migrant applicants. Source: UK Border Agency. 

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) writes:

450 colleges had their ‘trusted sponsor’ status revoked in the past year. This affects around 11,000 overseas students. Much is being said in the media about the immigration abuses of student visas, but the coverage forgets the real victims of this headline figure – the students.

Colleges who have their licences revoked are not all ‘bogus’, as the red top papers would have us believe. There’s been a constant scrutiny of such institutions for a number of years now. Colleges denied the chance to recruit international students face financial oblivion, and many close leaving students stranded in the middle of their studies.

I’ve had a couple of meetings with a group of students who have been left high and dry by two main factors. Firstly, they studied at a college run by rip off merchants who were happy to take large amounts of cash in the form of tuition fees, who then filed for bankruptcy. Secondly, they’ve been let down by an immigration system that offers no support or protection to students in this situation.

Academic scrutiny

Immigration law generally limits permission to stay to 60 days if a student’s course ends earlier than expected. As such, this means that a student has 60 days to find another college after their one closes.

Whether a college is licenced to issue Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) certificates  is decided by UKBA on three criteria: the human resource systems of the college, the civil penalties, and criminal convictions of the staff and any non-compliance by the organisation. There is no academic scrutiny of the college and no financial safeguards offered to students who choose to study there.

Perhaps an example best explains the situation.

Zara (not her real name) from Bangladesh came to study in the UK. Like so many students across the world, she was keen to improve her understanding and language skills by studying in another country. She’d seen adverts about London Trinity College, knew about the quality of education in the UK and applied. On the college website, it stated that the institution was a recognised sponsor in the eyes of the UKBA, which she found reassuring. The college was indeed listed on the UKBA website as a sponsor. They issued her with a CAS and was issued with a student visa.

Fees

Zara paid fees of £8000 to cover tuition for her ACCA qualification in accounting. But the financial demands weren’t quite so simple. She had to prove to UKBA she had enough money  in her bank account to maintain herself for a year –  £9600 to be precise. Borrowing the money from her parents and a little more from her extended family, she arrived in the UK, found lodgings and started her course in accounting.She was disappointed to find her ‘college’ was set up in a closed down grocery store. But, they taught the course and she thrived as a result of her hard work.

One day Zara turned up to college one day to find it closed. Meeting other students outside they did some quick research and found the college had gone into voluntary liquidation. None of the students were able to get their money back.

On seeking advice Zara and the others discovered that unless they found a college that would accept them within 60 days, paid the fees to the new college and reapplied for a visa, they would be in the country illegally.

Zara and her family could not afford a second set of fees. Additionally, few colleges are willing to accept international students mid-course as they have to use up their valuable CAS allocation for less money than a student studying a full year.

The Government and media stoked hysteria on ‘bogus’ students and ‘bogus’ colleges does wonders for helping to massage the figures on net immigration and appeasing public perceptions on immigration, but it does nothing to help the real victims of the situation – overseas students left in the lurch by colleges and the UKBA.

Financial benefits

Overseas students bring billions of pounds of trade and education revenue to the UK each year. Cuts in funding mean that universities and colleges are more dependent than ever on the fees paid by international students to keep courses open and education provision intact.

A stamp of approval from the UKBA has helped thousands of students decide to study at institutions which have dubious academic track records. Revoking trusted status may stop further abuses in the future – but what about those left in limbo now? Source: JCWI.

The UK Border Agency has implemented significant changes to the Tier 4 student route of the points-based system, which came into effect on 4 July 2011.

The Government implemented major changes to the Immigration Rules relating to Tier 4 students who want to study at private colleges in July.

The changes:

• restrict work entitlements, by only allowing students sponsored by higher education institutions (HEIs) and publicly funded further education colleges to work part-time during term time and full-time during vacations;
• restrict sponsorship of dependants to those of students sponsored by HEIs on postgraduate courses lasting 12 months or longer, and of government-sponsored students on courses lasting longer than 6 months;
• require institutions to confirm that courses represent genuine academic progression from any previous courses studied by the student in the UK; and
• create a streamlined application process for low-risk nationals sponsored by Highly Trusted sponsors.

The Home Office recently revealed a drop of 11,000 overseas students since tougher measures introduced this year. UK Universities warns that not only is the government’s action damaging Britain’s reputation, but was also responsible for 400 private colleges effectively opting out of the new Tier 4 sponsoring system.

The Universities UK action issued a warning about Britain’s reputation in education after new figures revealed that the government’s curb on overseas students had reduced their numbers by 11,000 and led to more than 450 colleges pulling out of the market, the Guardian reported earlier this month. 

A spokesman for UK University Services (UKUS) said that ‘unfortunately many international students are being deterred from choosing British colleges and universities due to rule changes, the abolition of the PSW post study work visa as well as all the rumours and stories of the bad experience suffered by their fellow countrymen whilst studying in the UK’. 

English UK, an association representing 450 language colleges, demanded an apology from the Home Office claiming their remarks implied institutions were fronts for illegal immigration.

The Home Office has been threatened with legal action amid claims it mistakenly implied that 22 colleges were bogus or sub-standard.

The combination of new UK Border Agency ‘Highly Trusted Sponsor’ regulations introduced this year and the new Tier 4 student visa rules, has increased costs whilst wiping out the market for smaller private education providers – hence the 400 closing their doors or simply opting out of the new Highly Trusted regime.

Last month more than 650 Tasmac College students were left stranded without a college when the University of Wales (UoW) accredited college went bust.

Students affected by the closure of their college should remember that new Tier 4 visa rules apply to students applying to private colleges after 4 July 2011.

Bison UK Immigration Adviser Cynthia Barker said:

‘This means that if you renew your visa for a private college or change college after 4 July 2011, you will not be able to work and you will not be able to sponsor your dependant.’ 

The new rules do not affect Bulgarians and Romanians coming to the UK on Yellow Card registration permits to work and study on vocational courses such as NVQ or QCF courses in Health and Social Care. 

See also:

New Tier 4 student visa rules now in force

Tackle visa abuse, but not at the cost of genuine students say Universities UK

Student visa crackdown damaging our reputation abroad, Universities UK warns

‘I’ve done nothing wrong’ says bankrupt Tasmac College director to the 650 students who have lost £7500 in fees

MORE CHALLENGES FOR TIER 4 STUDENTS AS ‘3-YEAR RULE’ APPLIED

HIGHLY TRUSTED PRIVATE COLLEGE STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE THE SAME RIGHT TO WORK AS GOVERNMENT SPONSORED INSTITUTIONS

New Tier 4 sponsor guidance published for Highly Trusted Sponsorship – will your private college qualify?

Post Study Work Visa to be abolished April 2012 as part of student visa clampdown

For free immigration news updates, please visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk  or email: info@immigrationmatters.co.uk 

Looking for a Tier 4 college or University or need advice?

UKUS is a free University and College Admissions and advice service based in London, UK. Students interested in studying abroad can complete the Online UKUS Registration Form for more details.

Samuel Shoyeju, 53, of Namur Road, Canvey, Essex, worked as an entry clearance officer in Croydon for the UK Border Agency, part of the Home Office.

He has been warned he faces a lengthy jail term after he admitted misconduct in a public office.

Shoyeju appeared at Basildon Crown Court, and pleaded guilty to one charge of wilful misconduct, by granting indefinite leave to remain to non-EU nationals who did not qualify under immigration laws before April 30, 2008.

Few details of the offence were heard in court, but prosecutors said there was evidence Shoyeju had received payments of tens of thousands of pounds into his bank account.

It is understood the visas were granted to Africans, particularly people living in Nigeria, and wanting to live and work in the UK.

Shoyeju, who wore black glasses and a light grey suit, has been remanded in custody to await sentencing.

A string of six other alleged offences, including counts of money laundering, were dropped against the father-of-three.

His co-defendant, Violet Savizon, an immigration officer, 47, from Dagenham, will go on trial next week, accused of immigration offences.

Lucy Kennedy, prosecuting, said there was documentary evidence showing payments of tens of thousands going into Shoyeju’s accounts.

She said:

“There is an inference to be drawn in that Mr Shoyeju did receive funds.

“The fact is, we do not know why he was doing it. For the purposes of sentencing the Crown say the most critical point is the vast breach of trust.”

The Crown said there was evidence of two people who were given counterfeit “indefinite leave to remain” letters which Shoyeju had made.

Stephen Linehan QC, for Shoyeju, said: “My case has always been that he did not do this for money. There is absolutely no doubt about it.”

Shoyeju will be sentenced at a later date, most likely once the outcome of Savizon’s case has been concluded.

See also:

Tier 2 Shortage Occupations List changes start today

Shortage occupations list for Tier 2 gets shorter

English UK seeks apology from Home Office over ‘bogus colleges’ claim

MORE CHALLENGES FOR TIER 4 STUDENTS AS ‘3-YEAR RULE’ APPLIED

UK Border Agency announce further changes to the student visa system

Tier 4 blacklisted financial institutions published by UK Border Agency as the heat is turned up on fraudulent student visa applications

Health care workers needed in UK now

Restrictions on Romanian workers in the UK labour market are ‘discriminatory’, says Keith Vaz MP

UK Border Agency issues new policy guidance on age 21 marriage visas following Quila and Bibi judgement

Immigration News weekly round up 13 November 2011

UK Border Agency announce further changes to the student visa system

Points Based System appeals ‘new evidence’ Upper Tribunal ruling 

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

The agency said:

‘18 October 2011 the government announced that it was accepting recommendations from the Independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) on changes to the shortage occupation list. Specialist jobs that are no longer required in the UK have been removed from a government-approved list that helps to ensure the UK only accepts migrant workers that the country needs.’

The official shortage occupation list is part of the Tier 2 working visa immigration route which is part of the points based system.

Highly skilled migrants from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) seeking to work in the UK must apply for visas via this route.

Employers can only bring someone into the UK under Tier 2 if the job is on the shortage occupation list or if they pass a resident labour market test (no suitable resident workers apply after advertising the job in the UK first for 4 weeks).

Occupations that the MAC recommended be removed from the list include:

• secondary education biology teachers;
• speech and language therapists;
• pharmacists;
• orthoptists;
• veterinary surgeons; and,
• rank and file orchestral musicians.

Added to the list will be:

• actuaries;
• high integrity pipe welders;
• environmental scientists; and,
• geochemists

Although the government has accepted the MAC’s recommended list in full, rank and file orchestral musicians will ‘not be removed from the list until further discussions take place with the industry to discuss the resident labour market test’.

The changes do not affect EU workers, but employers should be aware that it is illegal to employ a Bulgarian or Romanian worker without permission, even though they are members of the European Union. For further information see:

Immigration Rules for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals

As the newest members of the European Union, Bulgarians and Romanians also have ‘visa-free’ access to enter the UK, but do not enjoy the same rights to work as the earlier ‘A8’ Eastern European EU accession countries.

Romanian and Bulgarian citizens who exercise their Treaty Rights (under Article 39) and apply for an accession card as students taking vocational or sandwich courses (e.g. NVQ/QCF in Health and Social Care), are allowed to work full time, as stated on their Yellow Cards. 

See also:

Shortage occupations list for Tier 2 gets shorter

Health care workers needed in UK now

Restrictions on Romanian workers in the UK labour market are ‘discriminatory’, says Keith Vaz MP

UK Border Agency issues new policy guidance on age 21 marriage visas following Quila and Bibi judgement

Immigration News weekly round up 13 November 2011

UK Border Agency announce further changes to the student visa system

Points Based System appeals ‘new evidence’ Upper Tribunal ruling 

If you need any immigration advice or help with Sponsorship or Work Permits, Visa, ILR/Settlement, Citizenship, dependant visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

info@immigrationmatters.co.uk or visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk

Majestic College offer special packages for EU students. They also have a number of employers looking for staff right now and are willing to employ Bulgarians and Romanians.

For more information call Joanna on 0208 207 1020 or email info@majesticcollege.org

You report on the government’s moves to clamp down on student visa abuses by colleges (Visa curb warning, 2 November). The article says Universities UK is issuing “a warning” that cutting such courses is “damaging Britain’s reputation” in education.

We’d like to make it clear that abuse of the immigration system has to be dealt with robustly, and we support the government’s efforts in this respect. If a college is defrauding and abusing the system, it is quite right that their licences should be withdrawn or they be shut down.

Our concern lies in the way in which these issues are being presented. As you report, the changes are described by immigration minister Damian Green in terms of counteracting “widespread abuse of the student visa system”. Yet a number of the measures relate to restrictions of the options available to genuine international students during their time in the UK. Clearly there have to be limits to what an international student can do in this country: whether they can work, who they can bring with them and how long they can stay. But to conflate discussion about the limits of those entitlements with the need to combat fraud and abuse is damaging.

International students are much sought after across the world. They bring valuable cultural, diplomatic and economic benefit with them. They contribute £5bn to UK earnings each year, making a huge difference to local economies. The students come to the country and then leave, without recourse to public funds. Of those who stay, many end up teaching and carrying out world-leading research. In a deeply competitive and global market, inter–national staff make up a large proportion of university staff, without whom many departments would not be viable, or at best would be significantly weakened.

The government’s recent measures to clamp down on net migration, and limit the right of genuine students and staff to come into the country to study and work in universities, is playing badly internationally. UK universities are losing top students and staff to other countries whose governments are more welcoming. Students from the Indian subcontinent in particular are choosing to go to other competitor countries, with some UK universities reporting drops of 30% or more.

Contrast our Home Office announcements of clampdowns and measures “beginning to bite” with Australia recently announcing a new government-appointed council to develop “a new long-term strategy for the international education sector”. The difference is not lost on international students and staff.

There is a solution here. We must continue to work constructively with the government to eliminate fraud. The record of universities is strong, but there is always more that can be done. However, issues of abuse should not be bundled in with discussions about the circumstances in which legitimate international students can come and study. Source: The Guardian.

Earlier this week English UK, an association representing more than 450 language colleges, said the alleged error could bankrupt the institutions. Its lawyers are demanding senior Home Office officials issue an immediate apology and retraction.

The combination of new UK Border Agency ‘Highly Trusted Sponsor’ regulations introduced this year and the new Tier 4 student visa rules, has increased costs whilst destroying the market for private education providers – hence the 400 closing their doors or simply opting out of the new Highly Trusted regime.

The new student visa rules do not affect Bulgarians and Romanians coming to the UK on Yellow Card registration permits to work and study on vocational courses such as NVQ or QCF courses in Health and Social Care. 

See also:

UK University applications drop 9% as higher fees and student visa crackdown takes effect

English UK seeks apology from Home Office over ‘bogus colleges’ claim

UK Border Agency announce further changes to the student visa system

MORE CHALLENGES FOR TIER 4 STUDENTS AS ‘3-YEAR RULE’ APPLIED

New Tier 4 sponsor guidance published for Highly Trusted Sponsorship – will your private college qualify?

HIGHLY TRUSTED PRIVATE COLLEGE STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE THE SAME RIGHT TO WORK AS GOVERNMENT SPONSORED INSTITUTIONS

Post Study Work Visa to be abolished April 2012 as part of student visa clampdown

For free immigration news updates, please visit www.immigrationmatters.co.uk  or email: info@immigrationmatters.co.uk 

Looking for a Tier 4 college or University or need advice?

UKUS is a free University and College Admissions and advice service based in London, UK. Students interested in studying abroad can complete the Online UKUS Registration Form for more details.

The Universities UK action group has issued a warning about Britain’s reputation in education after new figures revealed that the government’s curb on overseas students had reduced their numbers by 11,000 and led to more than 450 colleges pulling out of the market, the Guardian reported earlier this month.

The Home Office said more than 400 of the pre-degree colleges ‘lost their right’ to recruit international students because they could not meet the standards of a new inspection regime.

40% of international students start at private colleges before going on to Universities

Universities UK said cutting such courses was damaging Britain’s reputation for being “open for business” and undermining the pathway programmes operated by many universities.

It estimates that 40% of international students go through such colleges before going taking a degree at a British university.

Student visa reforms, which included tougher sponsor and English language requirements, came into effect in April.

The Home Office said new inspection standards were designed to ensure that genuine international students received the highest quality education.

About 400 colleges – more than 20% of the sector – had their sponsorship revoked as they did not apply in time and 51 had their licences revoked after the UK Border Agency investigated a spike in applications from south Asia just before the tougher English language tests came into force.

The immigration minister, Damian Green, said:

“Widespread abuse of the student visa system has gone on for too long and the changes we have made are beginning to bite. Too many students have come to the UK with the aim of getting work and bringing over family members.”

Nicola Dandridge of Universities UK, said it believed the government’s aim of reducing net migration to below 100,000 a year lay behind the curbs.

“Universities UK believes that the number of international students coming into the country should be accounted for separately and not included in the definition of net migration for the purposes of government policy. International students are not economic migrants. They come to the UK to study and then they leave.”

She said Britain could not afford to make the same costly mistakes as the US and Australia which both curbed overseas students numbers and then dropped the policy when they realised it had seriously damaged the international competitiveness of their higher education sector. Source: Guardian.

UK University (UKUS), the free student placement service said that the figures confirm what the market already knows. International students are turning away from British Universities and colleges and choosing countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

This week English UK, an association representing 450 language colleges, demanded an apology from the Home Office claiming their remarks implied institutions were fronts for illegal immigration.

The Home Office has been threatened with legal action amid claims it mistakenly implied that 22 colleges were bogus or sub-standard.

Earlier this week English UK, an association representing more than 450 language colleges, said the alleged error could bankrupt the institutions. Its lawyers are demanding senior Home Office officials issue an immediate apology and retraction.

The combination of new UK Border Agency ‘Highly Trusted Sponsor’ regulations introduced this year and the new Tier 4 student visa rules, has increased costs whilst destroying the market for private education providers – hence the 400 closing their doors or simply opting out of the new Highly Trusted regime.

The new rules do not affect Bulgarians and Romanians coming to the UK on Yellow Card registration permits to work and study on vocational courses such as NVQ or QCF courses in Health and Social Care. 

See also:

UK University applications drop 9% as higher fees and student visa crackdown takes effect

English UK seeks apology from Home Office over ‘bogus colleges’ claim 

Pre Tier 4 students in the UK under the Immigration Rules that were in place before 31 March 2009

New Tier 4 student visa rules now in force

MORE CHALLENGES FOR TIER 4 STUDENTS AS ‘3-YEAR RULE’ APPLIED

HIGHLY TRUSTED PRIVATE COLLEGE STUDENTS DO NOT HAVE THE SAME RIGHT TO WORK AS GOVERNMENT SPONSORED INSTITUTIONS

New Tier 4 sponsor guidance published for Highly Trusted Sponsorship – will your private college qualify?

Post Study Work Visa to be abolished April 2012 as part of student visa clampdown

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