Indians entering on false student UK visas
December 21 2009 by Liam Clifford
Undercover newspaper reporters reveal UK visa scam involving foreign visa agents in Punjab.
There has been a marked increase in the number of young Indians, mainly from Punjab, entering the UK on falsely obtained student visas.
Undercover reporters from a UK Sunday newspaper found foreign visa agents offering would-be students £10,500 loans so that the funds could be placed in their accounts and they can convince the UK immigration authorities that they have enough money to pay student fees and support themselves while in Britain.
The money is transferred back to the lender immediately after it has been showing on bank statements for a month and the bogus student is safely in the UK on a UK visa.
The student is charged 7 per cent interest and £200 processing fee, this amounts to approximately £935.
The scam was uncovered in Punjabi towns and it is believed it is widespread across the state, although whether it is prevalent across the country is not yet known.
The number of UK visas given to Indian students has nearly doubled in the past year alone, up from 29,000 to 52,000. The report claims that many have no inclination of studying and simply vanish after entering the UK.
See the latest Immigration News
