UK to tighten issuance of student visas by 2012

The United Kingdom (UK) will tighten the issuance of student visas because many foreigners, including Filipinos, are allegedly misusing it to gain employment in Britain. According to UK Ambassador to the Philippines Stephen Lillie, the new policy will take effect in April 2012. Lillie said the new policy was drawn up after a British government review revealed widespread abuse. He stressed that the modified student visa policy will protect Filipino students from becoming victims of unscrupulous organizations and institutions. The UK has identified the Philippines as one of the countries with the most problematic student visa applications. He cited that 26 percent of the students supposedly studying at private institutions in the UK could not be accounted for. “The changes that we’re about to start introducing are not about stopping genuine students from coming to the U.K. but they are designed to eliminate abuse within the system, especially those whose real reason to go to the UK is not to study but to work," he said. “Fact is that the old student visa regime failed to control immigration and it also failed to protect legitimate students from poor quality colleges," Lillie said. “By contrast, putting in place stricter controls will be in the best interest of genuine students." Lillie said the new student visa policy will have “little substantive impact" on high-quality degree level students from the Philippines intending to study in the UK. Misuse of visas In a visit to Manila last year, Barbara Woodward, Director of the UK’s Border Agency Group, said a huge number of Filipino student visa holders allegedly misuse their visas. “We had some quite serious problems of applicants in the Philippines," she said. “It’s because people are intending not to study but to work under the guise of studying in the UK and that distorts the labor market in the UK and puts applicants at risk because they are not paid good wage for that and the health and safety provisions are not as good as it should be," she added. Aside from the Philippines the other countries with the most number of student visa applicants are India, China, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Under the new system, the UK will use a tougher entrance criteria, limits on work entitlements, and the closure of the post- study work scheme, British Home Secretary Theresa May said. “It has become very apparent that the old student visa regime failed to control immigration and failed to protect legitimate students from poor quality colleges," May said. She said the new system will ensure students that students will stay only for a limited period of time, to study and not work. Instead of applying for student visas, the British government said skilled workers should apply for the tier two visa category to get the full benefits and salaries they deserve in the UK. The British government also intends to develop a new entrepreneur visa for those who have a business idea for the UK. Trusted sponsors From April 2012, all institutions that plan to sponsor students will have to be be accredited as "Highly Trusted Sponsors" by statutory education inspection groups. Those coming to study at degree level should speak English at an upper intermediate (B2) level, higher than the current B1 requirement. The UK Border Agency staff can refuse entry to students who cannot speak English without an interpreter. Students at universities and public education colleges will retain current work rights. However, all other students will have no right to work, the UK said. The UK also said only postgraduate students at universities and government-sponsored students will be allowed to bring their dependents. Only those graduates who have an offer of a skilled job from a sponsoring employer, in Tier 2 of the Points-Based System, will be allowed to stay to work. – VVP, GMA News