BBC report says bogus UK student visa checks are not working
November 04 2009 by Liam Clifford
New undervover programme uncovers student visa irregularities.
Donal MacIntyre, the journalist best known for his undercover exploits and secret camera expose’s on the crime world, has claimed on his Radio 5 live show that the measures introduced to prevent the exploitation of the UK student visa system are not working.
The new measures brought in this year by UK immigration were meant to eliminate the bogus claims of immigrants claiming they were in the UK to study. However, MacIntyre claims the new rules for visitors, including obtaining sponsorship from a registered institution and proving they have sufficient funds to cover the cost of living in the UK while here, are being manipulated.
Although the UK Border Agency says all immigrant students must comply with these new rules, it has emerged that much of the verification process is done in students’ own countries and therefore difficult to police.
An immigration officer based at Heathrow told the programme the list of registered institutions includes ones that are known to have awarded false qualifications in the past. He added that the huge numbers coming through the immigration gates at Heathrow make it difficult to check student visa details on arrival.
This loophole in the system will come as another embarrassment for the government, in a week when increased pressure for not being clear with immigration policy was raised as a rhetoric for the BNP gaining empathisers, leading to calls that they have ‘alienated’ certain parts of society.
After 20 years in immigration Global Visas Director Liam Clifford has lost count of the number of changes to UK immigration, introduced by various Home Secretaries, without much success.
He said, “The fact the UK Immigration authorities can not control the borders is very disappointing.
“The system is over stretched and Immigration Officers do not have the necessary resources to close the colleges everyone knows are operating as visa factories. When action is taken it is very often the victim that gets the brunt of the punishment and not the people that run these colleges.”
Clifford added, “The failure of UK BIA to put bogus colleges out of business brings the whole of the UK Education system into disrepute overseas. If the UK is not able to showcase a highly regulated and world renowned Educational system, genuine students will be put off and go to the USA or Australia instead.”
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