Events | 2009.12.06
Students 'put off Britain by visa system'
Points based immigration system aimed at rooting out terrorists blamed for delaying visas for genuine students
Britain is losing tens of thousands of overseas students – worth £8.5bn a year to the economy – because of errors and obstructive behaviour by immigration officials, a report will say this week.
The controversial points-based immigration system, introduced in March, was designed to crack down on fake students and prevent terrorists from entering the country.
But a study has found that immigration officials working for the UK Border Agency in embassies and high commissions are misinterpreting the new rules and refusing visas to genuine students. Some have been so obstructive, they have deterred bona fide students from coming to Britain.
According to Home Office figures, overseas students contribute £8.5bn a year to the British economy and their fees amount to 8% of the total income of British universities. Turning them away threatens a huge source of revenue and could threaten universities\' financial stability. It could also undermine the country\'s international reputation for higher education.
The study, by the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA), questioned 2,777 international students who applied for a student visa between July and September. It found that two-fifths of the students had experienced difficulties or encountered "errors or obstructions" that had put them off studying in Britain or resulted in them being refused visas.
One had been refused a visa for putting her nationality as "Nigeria" rather than "Nigerian". Others had their passports lost by officials or sent to the wrong addresses. Some had the wrong nationality stamped on their forms.At least 10% had been refused a visa the first time, but were successful at later attempts. Immigration minister Phil Woolas last month admitted that more than 23,000 overseas students had been forced to reapply for their visas in the last six months and had been granted them on the second or third attempt.
UKCISA, which represents the 340,000 international students at colleges and universities in Britain, said this represented "an enormous cost and inconvenience for students" and "undermined the UK\'s reputation for higher education".
Its study found that in at least five cases, immigration officials prevented students from bringing their young children to Britain.The cost of bureaucracy is also putting off potential students. Some 65% found the cost of a student visa – at £145, compared with £99 two years ago – excessive, while just under one in six of the students had to pay an extra £200 to ensure they had the correct paperwork. Two-fifths said immigration officials had been slow and inefficient, while 59% had problems with the application form and guidance.
The majority said they had no way of tracking the progress of their visa application or even knowing whether it had reached BritainOne student said: "Nearly everyone got rejected the first time because we did not choose the correct drop-down box in the online application form." Another said: "I had my bank statements all translated into English, but two words were not translated and they forced me to spend another £60 to re-translate the whole document."
The new rules require students to prove they have enough money to live in Britain. But 49% had difficulty proving that they had the funds to live in Britain.
One student said: "I come from a working-class family in the United States. The need to demonstrate the total funding for the year all at once was an enormous hardship and required my parents to empty out a retirement savings fund."Dominic Scott, chief executive of UKCISA, said: "It looks as if the majority of students are being pretty patient and persistent, especially those who have had to apply for their visas more than once.
"Getting a student visa seems to have been like a hurdles race in which many get unnecessarily tripped up along the way.If we don\'t make it work, tens of thousands of students will be looking at alternative and perhaps more welcoming destinations."
Universities UK, the umbrella group for vice-chancellors, has said that 24% of universities missed their targets for international students this year, largely because of the student visas.A spokesman from the UK Border Agency said: "Whilst 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." Yesterday, the government\'s senior adviser on migration called for an inquiry into more than 600 degree-awarding further education colleges to check that their overseas students are employed in highly skilled jobs in Britain after they graduate. Professor David Metcalf, chairman of the Home Office\'s migration advisory committee, said he was "stunned" to discover that more than 600 colleges could grant two-year work and residence visas to overseas students who had completed their courses.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/dec/06/immigration-students-blocked
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