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Tough new rules target bogus colleges and education cheats
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.
