Sham colleges affect student UK immigration rules
July 27 2009 by Rebekah Nahai
UK immigration changes for students
Colleges handing out bogus qualifications are being exposed across the UK.
The UK Border Agency is clamping down on the 2,000 unregistered colleges which have sold UK entry to international students under the guise of UK student visas.
Poor quality educational institutions can be set up by a "couple of people above a chip shop," says Tony Millns, head of language teaching association English UK.
It is estimated that tens of thousands of students obtained UK visas prior to the points-based regulations. Many of them face deportation from the UK if their colleges are judged to be fraudulent.
The Cambridge College of Education in east London sold diplomas for money with few real study requirements. It was shut down by the UK Border Agency in December 2008. But some students are contesting the rejection of their post-study UK visa applications, saying the college was “perfectly genuine” and that they did study there.
Colleges must now satisfy UK Border Agency standards to sponsor international students under the points-based system. About 460 of the UK’s 2,100 institutions have been denied so far.
Students are required to provide proof of acceptance by a registered UK institution and evidence of nine months’ living expenses. Fingerprints will be taken by the UK Border Agency.
Colleges must prove they are genuine and are required to report students who fail to attended courses.
But Dr Sharon Bolton, head of international student support at Imperial College, expressed concern about increased bureaucracy.
"The application form for those in the UK is a massive administrative burden for the students themselves, the universities that are dealing with it, and for the Home Office workers who are processing them.
"I don't see how that's not going to cause delays," she added.
The new regulations are intended to increase UK immigration security and maintain the country’s education standards. Home secretary Jacqui Smith says: "These new measures make sure people who come here to study - and the people who teach them - play by the rules.”
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