Universities
and colleges told proportion of visa refusals allowed will halve
More
universities could lose their licences to sponsor international students after
the government announced it would introduce stricter rules on recruiting
students from outside the European Union.
Currently,
institutions can lose their licence if more than 20 per cent of the students
they have offered places to are refused a visa by the border authorities.
But
from November, this proportion will be cut to 10 per cent.
When
the idea of reducing the threshold was floated in March by the new immigration
minister James Brokenshire, it was warned that several universities
were already “hovering” at the 10 per cent level.
Don
Ingham, a former head of managed migration at the Home Office who now runs
Veristat, an immigration consultancy that advises education providers, said at
the time: “I would not be surprised to find there were some universities
hovering around that [10 per cent] figure…Anything that tightens up an already
tight regime would be very harsh and would have a further impact on educational
institutions – and within their number there may be some universities who may
fall foul of it.”
Edward
Acton, vice-chancellor of the University of East Anglia, also warned in March
that Mr Brokenshire’s proposals would force a “truly savage reduction” in the
recruitment of international students.
Today’s
announcement by the government was billed
as a wider “crackdown on immigration abuses” including a halving of the period
European migrants can claim benefits.
“From
November, tougher rules will be imposed on universities and colleges who
sponsor international students to study in the UK,” the announcement says.
“Currently, educational institutions cannot enjoy highly trusted sponsor status
if 20% or more of the individuals they have offered places to are refused
visas.”
“But
that figure will be cut to 10% in November after a 3-month transitional period
for colleges and universities to re-examine their admissions procedures before
offering individuals places,” it continues.
In
June, Glyndwr University had its licence suspended and the
universities of West London and Bedfordshire were prevented from issuing any
more acceptances to international students after a Home Office investigation
into fraudulent English language tests.
