The government is considering introducing stricter rules on visas in a bid to stamp out bogus colleges which act as a front for illegal immigration and terrorism.

Last month Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that the government would be reviewing the rules on student visas issued for below degree level courses.

Legitimate schools in Thanet say the proposals would reduce the number of students coming to the isle, without dealing with the issue of phoney schools.

Peter Worley, principal of Broadstairs’ Hilderstone College which takes hundreds of students from around the world every year, said: “The proposals will not deter illegal immigrants from entering the UK, but they will stop many thousands of genuine overseas students from studying in the UK and contributing hugely to the economic wellbeing of the country.

“Here at Hilderstone College, and in large numbers of other institutions, we have already seen the effect of the current system on enrolments, with many students from countries like Korea and Japan turning their backs on the UK and opting to spend their money and have their education in Australia, the US and other competitor countries.”

The thousands of students who take courses in language schools and colleges around the isle are estimated to put around £14 million a year into Thanet’s economy.

Some schools fear they could see a 30 per cent drop in enrolments if stricter rules are imposed.

South Thanet MP Steve Ladyman met immigration minister Phil Woolas last week to discuss the schools’ concerns.

He said: “Phil has assured me that he is working with the trade group that represents language schools and I am confident the changes he makes will not affect them.

“His own constituency of Oldham has a large number of language schools so he is very aware of their concerns.

“After big companies like Pfizer, they are the most important industry in all of Thanet, not just because of the schools themselves, but because of the many host families who are paid to put the students up.”

Schools have set up an online petition against the changes, which can be accessed at petitions.number10.gov.uk/PBSReview.

Students are worth around £8 billion to the UK economy according to the Home Office figures.

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From next month the UK Border Agency:

• Will seek to continue with removal in cases where a previous removal has failed within the last ten days because of a technical reason, such as a cancelled flight or disruptive behaviour.
• Will not automatically defer removal upon a threat of judicial review in cases certified on safe third country (TCU) grounds or those judged clearly unfounded under the Non Suspensive Appeal (NSA) process. In these cases, we will usually give at least five days’ notice of removal rather than three.
• Will not automatically give 72 hours’ notice of removal to those who are disruptive or pose a threat to others.

The policy changes will come into effect on 11 January 2010. Rewritten guidance on judicial reviews, which forms Chapter 60 of our Enforcement Instructions and Guidance, can be downloaded from the UK Border website.

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The report focuses on many elements of the agency’s work, including the processing of older asylum applications (known as ‘legacy cases’), and addresses the payment of bonuses to senior managers.

Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said:

‘The UK Border Agency has made considerable improvements over recent years and is now a world leader with the introduction of biometric visas, identity cards for foreign nationals, and a points-based system to control migration.

‘The truth is that our border has never been stronger, as illustrated by the fall in asylum applications, the record numbers we are stopping at Calais, and the watch-list checks that are undertaken before people even step on a plane.

‘The UK Border Agency is continuing to make progress in dealing with the legacy backlog of older asylum cases, and has already concluded more than 220,000 cases. We are now looking at whether we can clear the backlog earlier than summer 2011.

‘With the creation of the UK Border Agency we assembled a management team from across Whitehall and beyond who are leading dynamic changes across the business. I believe that it is right to reward staff for outstanding work, and bonuses are only ever awarded to those who have performed to a high standard.’

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If you need any immigration advice or help with Studying in the UK, Settlement, Citizenship, Sponsorship, extending Work Permits, Visa or an appeal against a refusal please email: 

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Phil Woolas, the Immigration Minister, defended bonus payments worth an average of £10,000 paid to 29 senior civil servants in the UK Border Agency.

He said staff in the agency were “very brave” and that they helped to protect the country.

His comments, which came after the death of the 100th soldier to die in Afghanistan this year, were criticised for being “deeply insensitive”.

Patrick Mercer, a Conservative member of the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee, and a former British soldier, said: “I think this is another extraordinary statement.

“It is a very hard thing to swallow for our fighting forces to be compared to an immigration service about which most of us have the gravest of doubts.

“It’s deeply insensitive to make those statements the day after the 100th member of the Armed Forces was killed in Afghanistan this year.”

Mr Woolas made his comment after publication of a Commons Home Affairs Select Committee report into the work of the agency.

The committee said that the agency, whose predecessor was described as “not fit for purpose”, was still not operating adequately.

It also expressed surprise that £295,000 had been paid in bonuses to 29 officials working in the agency which is having to deal with huge backlog of old asylum and immigration cases.

Mr Woolas backed the payments and work done during an interview on the BB Radio 4 Today programme.

He said: “I think the UK Border Agency should be praised – they are very brave men and women who protect our borders and they are getting on top of the situation.

“The chair of the [Home Affairs] Select Committee has said we are not yet fit for purpose and I’m defending my staff who put their lives on the line for us.”

Later a furious Mr Woolas issued a statement defending his remarks.

He said: “It is ridiculous and contemptible to suggest that I compared the immigration service to our soldiers serving in Afghanistan.”

The Minister added in a statement: “UK Border Agency front-line officers work 24/7 at our ports around the country and posts abroad to protect our border and in daily operations in partnership with the police to arrest and deport foreign criminals in often difficult and dangerous situations.”

Home Office sources said Mr Woolas had been talking about the circumstances in which staff have to work in dealing immigration and detecting people smugglers.

They said airport liaison officers in Nigeria have to be escorted to work by armed guard.

They pointed to occasions in the past when attempts have been made by stowaways to stab officers and to maritime officers who board vessels at sea without knowing whether they will face people with knives or guns.

Source: The Times

Home Affairs Committee chairman Keith Vaz is reported to have said it was “astonishing” staff were paid £295,000 last year despite new revelations about abandoned case files.

A review of files at the UK Border Agency revealed 40,000 where officials had “no formal record” of immigrants leaving. Most were more than six years old.

Labour MP Mr Vaz said he was “very concerned” by the high number of errors discovered in asylum backlog files.

Of the 450,000 files uncovered three years ago, 220,000 have been dealt with, but the committee discovered 88,500 files marked as concluded – more than a third of the total – were found to contain errors.

Some 74,000 asylum seekers and their children have been granted leave to remain and only 30,000 (14%) have been removed from the country.

Increasing numbers are being allowed to stay because as time passes with further delays they are more likely to have established a “family life” in the UK, the report said.

Mr Vaz said UKBA was still a long way from “performing as it should”.

The UK Border Agency was set up after former Home Secretary John Reid said it was “not fit for purpose” in May 2006, following revelations about foreign prisoners not being deported.

The committee’s report called for the target of 2011 for officials to deal with the “substantial” asylum backlog to be moved to September next year. Some have been living here for as long as nine years before being given a final decision, the report revealed.

Chancellor Alistair Darling announced yesterday that banks will have to pay a 50 per cent levy on any bonus paid to its staff before April 5 to address public fury over City remuneration.

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If you need any immigration advice or help with Studying in the UK, Settlement, Citizenship, Sponsorship, extending Work Permits, Visa or an appeal against a refusal please email:

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Undercover reporters from the Daily Telegraph have exposed a host of scams, including an agency in the Philippines, offered to foreign nationals desperate to come to Britain as bogus students.

Government officials in the Philippines alerted British consular staff to the large number of poorly-educated citizens who were heading for Britain on study visas.

Theresa Dizon-de Vega, Consul-General at the Philippine Embassy in London, said:

“The Ambassador had a very productive discussion recently with minister Phil Woolas and officials of the UK Home Office.

“The Philippine Embassy and the UK Home Office agreed to co-ordinate closely and exchange information and views on various immigration-related concerns including the implementation of the new points-based system of migration.” 

The UK Border Agency said:

“All applications under the points-based system are closely scrutinised, and our frontline staff are trained in detecting forgery and fraud. Contrary to the newspaper’s claim that anyone achieving the 40 points required under Tier 4 will have their application approved, we can still refuse anyone who submits false documents, has an adverse immigration history or has insufficient funds when they apply.

“We will also refuse anyone who applies under Tier 4 but is not intending to undertake a genuine course with a genuine education provider. We can and do ban people from applying for visas for 10 years if they use false documents or deception in a visa application.”

The agency responsible for immigration and border controls added that where a licensed Tier 4 sponsoring college knowingly accept migrants who do not intend to study there, they would revoke its licence.

Additional controls have been applied to those students who apply to study at one college but then wants to switch to another college. Students need to apply for permission to do so – and the new college must also be on a licensed Tier 4 sponsor. Students with visas or permission issued after 5 October this year looking to switch educational providers must now apply for new leave to remain.  

All licensed colleges are now required to report on student attendance, and the UK Border Agency will take appropriate action if they fail to do so or if they have a high drop-out rate.

A number of colleges have lost their licence this year only months after being added to the Government’s ‘Tier 4 Sponsors Register’.

Border and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said:

“While there will always be people who will try to abuse our immigration rules, we have robust systems in place to ensure that only those students who are genuinely coming to the UK to study can do so.

“The points-based system ensures that only those colleges and schools who provide quality education and take responsibility for their students are licensed to bring in foreign students.

“Schools and colleges are inspected by accreditation bodies and the UK Border Agency to ensure they are genuine. Before we tightened controls, around 4,000 UK institutions were bringing in international students – this currently stands at around 2,000.

“We continuously monitor our systems, and where improvements can be made we will make them.”

Immigration Matters Comment

Entry Clearance Officers still have powers to refuse applications, including cases where fraud is suspected. Immigration officers at the border can, and do, refuse entry to the UK to anyone who fails to demonstrate that they are a genuine student.

The Government has brought in a number of measures to control overseas students and their educational providers. Under the old ‘DIUS’ system few checks were made on colleges and accreditation was granted without an inspection visit.

Under the new Tier 4 system, all colleges applying for a sponsors licence were inspected by an accreditation body and by UK Border Agency inspectors before or soon after being licensed.

Colleges are now responsible and accountable for its students. They must monitor their student’s attendance and academic progress, as well as there whereabouts and, in the case of vocational or sandwich courses, their workplace.

Educational providers will also have to undergo annual and unannounced inspections and provide information on demand to the authorities, or risk losing its licence.

If someone wants to enter the country illegally they could simply apply for a visit or business visa or join the hoards of illegal immigrants boarding lorries every night at Calais. The student route is not that easy and involves far more financial commitment and work to obtain a visa.

What’s your view? Make your comment below.

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If you need any immigration advice or help with Studying in the UK, Settlement, Citizenship, Sponsorship, extending Work Permits, Visa or an appeal against a refusal please email:

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The claims were made following the publication last week of a Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) report into Tier 1 of the points-based system. The Tier 1 (Post-study work) route enables migrants to stay and work here after they have completed a course of study at a specified level in the UK.

MAC has recommended that the government should review whether students on some UK education providers’ courses should still be able to access the post-study work route – however, it did not suggest that these education providers, or the students taking their courses, are not genuine.

Under Tier 4 of the points-based system, which was launched earlier this year, only those educational establishments that are dedicated to providing quality education and taking responsibility for their students are licensed to sponsor foreign students.

Tier 4 ensures that students can feel confident in the quality of the education they will receive in the UK, and minimises the risk of exploitation by ‘bogus colleges’. Any education provider that is licensed as a Tier 4 sponsor will be able to continue enrolling foreign students.

The government will now consider the MAC’s recommendations regarding Tier 1, and will announce whether it accepts them in early 2010. The announcement will be published on this website.

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If you need any immigration advice or help with Studying in the UK, Settlement, Citizenship, Sponsorship, extending Work Permits, Visa or an appeal against a refusal please email:

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

The state-of-the-art gates, which were recently launched at Terminal 2 after their successful installation at Terminal 1 last year, provide legitimate travellers with an automated, secure route through the UK border. More than 300,000 people have already used them at the airport.

Any UK or European passenger aged 18 or over who has an electronically chipped biometric passport, issued since 2006, can choose to use the self-service gates instead of queuing at traditional manned passport controls.

The gates take seconds to scan each passenger’s face against the digital photo recorded in their passport. If there is a match, the gates allow the traveller across the border. The system is monitored at all times by UK Border Agency officers.

Individuals are checked against international watch-lists before they can pass through the gates, and anyone refused entry will be checked by our officers.

Speaking on a visit to Manchester International Airport yesterday, Borders and Immigration Minister Phil Woolas said:

‘Britain’s border security controls are among the toughest in the world, and by using the latest technology we are continuing to improve our ability to ensure only legitimate travellers and goods enter Britain.

‘The new facial recognition gates here at Manchester Airport will improve our service to the public and help to make the UK safer.

‘We have also introduced fingerprint visas (which check everyone who wants to come to the UK against immigration and crime databases), identity cards for foreign nationals and the £1.2 billion e-Borders system, which targets terrorist suspects, criminals and would-be illegal immigrants before they can reach the UK.’

The gates are being operated in partnership between the UK Border Agency and Manchester International Airport. The technology has already proved popular at Birmingham, Stansted and Bristol airports, with 860,000 passengers having used the service so far.

Andrew Cornish, managing director at Manchester International Airport, said:

‘We have invested over £50 million in transforming our terminals to improve the airport experience for our passengers. Our passengers tell us that this new technology in our immigration halls provides an even smoother UK entry process.’

Mr Woolas also met the UK Border Agency dog team based at the airport, which are responsible for detecting goods – including drugs, cash, endangered species and products of animal origin – that people try to smuggle into the country illegally.

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If you need any immigration advice or help with Studying in the UK, Settlement, Citizenship, Sponsorship, extending Work Permits, Visa or an appeal against a refusal please email:

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

Students coming to study in the UK from outside Europe will now have to apply for their visa using the points based system.

Immigration Minister Phil Wollas say’s overseas students, which number over 375,000 in under graduates alone, are worth almost £9 billion to the UK economy.

He said that systems are now more robust, but added that in his view the student visa route has been the most “abused route in the immigration system”.

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If you need any immigration advice or help with Studying in the UK, Settlement, Citizenship, Sponsorship, extending Work Permits, Visa or an appeal against a refusal please email:

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

Border and Immigration Minister, Phil Woolas said:

‘Our border has never been stronger, as illustrated by the fall in asylum applications and the record numbers we are stopping at Calais.

‘We will continue to grant refuge to those that genuinely need it, in accordance with Britain’s proud traditions, however the latest statistics show that 79 per cent of asylum seekers did not qualify for international protection. We expect those people to return home. If they do not do so voluntarily, we will enforce their removal.’

The figures were part of the ONS immigration statistics published on Thursday 26 November.

Source: UK Border Agency

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Loloahi Tapui, 27, from Tonga, who was charged on Friday, says she will instruct her legal team to bring Baroness Scotland forward as a witness if the Crown Prosecution Service does not.

Ms Tapui, an illegal immigrant, claims Lady Scotland failed to ask her about her right to work in the UK before offering her a job. 

Ms Tapui believes that if the Baroness takes the stand under oath, the truth will emerge over whether the Attorney General did, as she claims, see Ms Tapui’s passport before offering her a job.

The former housekeeper told the newspaper this weekend: ‘In a way, going to court will be a good way to get my point across. I would like Baroness Scotland to be a witness to allow her to be cross-examined. I want her to appear in court and I am prepared to get my lawyers to ask her to be there so I can confront her about her side of the story.’

Ms Tapui is set to contest charges of fraud by false representation, possessing a false passport and overstaying her visa.

The case is potentially hugely embarrassing for the country’s chief law officer.

She may be asked to testify that Ms Tapui falsely claimed she was eligible to work.

Ms Tapui denies ever having made such a claim and says she was never asked to provide proof of her status, or a passport.

Lady Scotland sacked her housekeeper in September after it emerged that Ms Tapui was working in the UK illegally.

The Attorney General said she had seen ‘all relevant documents’, including a passport.

But Ms Tapui later told The Mail on Sunday she had never been asked to show her passport – which would have shown her visa was out of date.

Ms Tapui said: ‘What I’m waiting for is to see if she’ll stick by her story in court. I’m prepared to take a lie detector test.’

Ms Tapui’s husband, solicitor Alex Zivancevic, 40, who is a UK citizen, was accused of assisting unlawful immigration. He was cautioned and will face no charges.

Baroness Scotland has received a £5,000 fine for committing a ‘technical breach’ by failing to keep copies of documents she claims she was shown by Ms Tapui.

The maximum sentence for the fraud charge is ten years.

The maximum for holding a false passport is two years and, for overstaying a visa, six months and a £5,000 fine.

A legal expert said: ‘Ms Tapui would be perfectly entitled to call Baroness Scotland as a witness for the defence.

‘If Lady Scotland refused to attend, she would have to provide a statement to the judge detailing why her evidence would not be suitable, although I cannot imagine why that would be the case.’

A spokesman for the CPS said there was ‘currently no witness list’ for the case.

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If you need any immigration advice or help with Studying in the UK, Settlement, Citizenship, Sponsorship, extending Work Permits, Visa or an appeal against a refusal please email:

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