HOME OFFICE News
Release (055/2009) issued by COI News Distribution Service on 31
March 2009
A strict new
system to crack down on bogus colleges and fraudulent applications
from foreign students has so far screened out almost a quarter of
applications from independent schools, colleges and universities,
the Government revealed today.
Institutions have to register with the UK Border Agency before
they are allowed to sponsor international students to come here
under the student tier of Britain's tough new points system.
More than 2,100 universities, independent schools and colleges
have applied to accept international students. Each institution
has been assessed or visited by UK Border Agency officers as part
of the vetting process. Already around 460 institutions that
don't make the grade have been rejected.
Foreign students play a huge part in the UK's cultural and
economic wealth and they help make the UK's education sector
one of the finest in the world. Last year tuition fees from
international students totalled £2.5 billion - the Tier 4 rules
ensure that institutions who benefit from having international
students on their books take responsibility for ensuring students
arriving from outside Europe comply with the conditions of their
leave to be in the UK.
Before reaching the UK, students need to prove they have a place
at a licensed institution, that they can financially support
themselves, and must provide their fingerprints to the UK Border Agency.
The Government is determined that the new route benefits
talented, legitimate students making the most of Britain's
world-leading educational institutions.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said:
"These new measures make sure people who come here to study
- and the people who teach them - play by the rules.
"This new tier of the points based system allows us to know
exactly who is coming to the UK to study and crack down on bogus colleges.
"I have made it clear that I will not tolerate either the
fraudulent applicants trying to abuse Britain's immigration
rules, or the dodgy colleges that facilitate them. However Britain
will always welcome legitimate students who are coming here to
receive a first-rate education."
Professor Mary Ritter, Pro Rector, International Affairs, at
Imperial College London said:
"International students play a big part in making Imperial
the dynamic and exciting place it is, and we feel very fortunate
that so many motivated, highly talented people from around the
world want to pursue their studies here.
"It's vital that, while taking appropriate border
control measures, we don't make it difficult for these
students to come to the UK. For that reason we are very pleased
that the Government has decided to extend the maximum length of
the Tier 4 visa from the planned four years to cover the complete
duration of a student's course. This will be particularly
helpful for medical students.
"We also welcome moves to make the system simpler for
institutions and students."
The UK Border Agency has been working closely with the education
sector to ensure the system works for both institutions and
students alike. Following consultation, students must show they
have the money to support themselves for nine months - this is
lower than the 12 months originally proposed for this tier.
Today also sees a raft of other immigration controls come into
force to ensure immigration is managed for the benefit of Britain.
Today the UK Border Agency will:
- introduce wider new categories of foreign nationals required to
apply for an ID card containing their facial image and
fingerprints. ID cards will securely lock foreign nationals into
one identity and help businesses crack down on illegal working;
- be even more selective through the points based system for
foreign workers by ensuring that employers must have advertised
skilled jobs for two weeks in a Jobcentre Plus before they can
offer it to a foreign worker and raising the bar for highly
skilled migrants through Tier 1. This shows that in these
difficult times the bar has been raised for highly skilled
migrants; and
- start increasing visa fees to provide a pot of cash which will
go towards the Migration Impact Fund. The government confirmed
earlier this month that this fund, worth £70 million over two
years, would be implemented to help deal with the impacts of
migration on a local level. This money will be made available to
local service providers across the country, including police,
schools and hospitals.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Schools, colleges and universities have been able to sign up
to the sponsorship register since July 2008.
2. Tier 1 (highly skilled migrants) of the points based system
went live on 29 February 2008. Tier 2 (skilled workers) and Tier 5
(temporary workers) went live on 27 November 2008. Tier 3
(unskilled workers) remains suspended.
3. Edinburgh College of Arts, St Dominic's Sixth Form
College and Schiller University are just three of the institutions
to have signed up to the new Tier 4 registration system.
EDINBURGH COLLEGE OF ARTS - Geraldine Johnson:
"I found the application process straightforward. I used the
website and found it well organised and easy to navigate. I found
the guidance notes were particularly helpful."
ST. DOMINIC'S SIXTH FORM COLLEGE - Dominic Nicholl:
"St. Dominic's Sixth Form College is a small college
with few overseas students and even fewer overseas staff. The
thought of having to register for yet another process was not
eagerly anticipated.
"In the event, the on-line process of form filling for tiers
2 and 4 was straightforward; and communication and contact with
several staff from the UKBA has been easy, helpful and courteous.
We were interviewed by two inspectors who appeared to be impressed
by our attendance and pastoral monitoring of all students;
subsequently, the lead inspector has been most helpful in
progressing our approval to be sponsors."
SCHILLER INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY - David Taylor:
"The process and the support of the UKBA was, for us at
Schiller, invaluable.
"The fact that someone was able to come and talk with my
staff before we filled out the on-line form was most helpful and
did help us to complete the documentation with minimal problems.
"The guidance notes, once printed, were again a positive
factor in ensuring that we registered in a manner which allowed us
to "get it right".
"The response from our application was timely and I felt
that the staff were supportive of our experience and the process
was easier than we expected it to be."
4. In March 2006 the Government published a Command Paper setting
out the new PBS, 'A points-based system; Making Migration
work for Britain'. The new system consolidates the many
complex routes into just five tiers. It is designed to facilitate
entry to the UK of all those wanting to come to work, train and
study. For more information go to: http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/employers/points/whatisthpointsbasedsystem/
5. The UKBA first issued identity cards for foreign nationals on
25 November 2008. These cards were issued to people granted
extensions of leave to remain in the UK as a student or based on
marriage/ partnership. From 31 March the range of foreign
nationals required to apply for an ID card is widening. A full
list can be found here; http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsarticles/immigrationapplicantstogetidcard
All new non EEA foreign nationals coming to the UK for more then
six months and those extending their stay will have a card within
three years and it is estimated that by the end of 2014/15 about
90 per cent of all foreign nationals will have been issued with one.
6. Funding for the Migration Impacts Fund was announced by the
Government on 18 March 2009. The funding is £35m in the first year
and, subject to a review in the autumn of the migrant fees being
received, a similar amount in 2010/11. A copy of the document is
available on the Communities website - http://www.communities.gov.uk
7. In response to the global recession and the downturn that has
hit British workers - the Government set out the following
measures on 22 February 2009:
- we are strengthening the Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT) for
employers with skilled jobs on offer, so employers must advertise
them to resident workers through JobCentre Plus before they can
bring in a worker from outside Europe. This reinforces JobCentre
plus' active role in matching job vacancies to the skills of
the resident population;
- we will be tightening the criteria for highly skilled migrants
raising the qualifications and salary level to enter the UK
through Tier 1 of the Points Based System to require a Masters
degree and a minimum salary of £20,000; and
- we will use the publication of the Shortage Occupation Lists
every six months to trigger skills reviews of the jobs on this
list, focusing on up-skilling resident workers, making the UK less
dependent on migration for the future.
8. The figures in this press notice are based on provisional
management information, which is subject to change. They are not
national statistics.