Ahead of the summer surge in student visa applications UK Border Agency officers will be given new powers to interview international students and refuse visas if they are not satisfied the applicant is genuine, Home Office Immigration Minister Damian Green announced.
Across the globe high-risk applicants will be identified and asked a number of questions about their immigration and education history, study and post-study plans, and finances. Immigration Minister Damian Green said: ‘We are toughening up the system to keep out the fraudulent and unqualified while ensuring genuine students benefit from our country’s excellent education sector.’
This follows a pilot carried out by the UK Border Agency last year to tackle concerns about the legitimacy of some applicants. More than 2,300 student visa applicants were interviewed in 13 overseas posts with the aim of testing how effective face-to-face interviews and new refusal powers would be – in addition to existing application processes that consider fraud and other factors.
These new measures will help the UK, according to the Coalition, to protect colleges and universities, who have made offers to students in good faith, from unscrupulous agents and those looking to play the system. The new power to refuse will supplement our existing student policies and act as a safety net to filter out any remaining abuse. Under a further change, it will also be possible for an official to refuse entry to an applicant who fails to attend an interview without providing a reasonable explanation.
For Labour, Chris Bryant MP, Labour’s Shadow Immigration Minister, in response to the Government’s announcement on changes to checks to student visas, said: “We welcome a more stringent interview process to prevent those attending ‘bogus colleges’ on Tier 4 visas from gaining entry to the UK. However, it is of the utmost importance that legitimate students do not feel victimised or put off from coming to the UK to study at some of the world’s most renowned universities.
““The Government needs to get the message out, loud and clear that we will welcome with open arms those wishing to come to the UK to study legitimately. Furthermore, the Home Secretary needs to guarantee that these changes will not lead to further delays in visas being issued or at the Border itself. The resources at the UK Border Agency and the UK Border Force are already stretched to breaking point; we must make sure they are properly equipped to carry out these checks in a timely and proper manner.
“It is estimated that students from outside the UK will be bringing £10,413 million in to the UK economy by 2015, we must make sure that they feel welcome to ensure that UK institutions remain some of the best in the world.”
