University vice chancellors concerned over UK student visa backlog

October 14 2009 by Liam Clifford

Thousands of students who are looking to study in the UK have still not received their UK visas.

Universities UK (UUK), the umbrella body for university vice chancellors, has voiced fears that UK universities could miss out on millions of pounds as a result of new UK student visa rules.

Wealthy foreign students often pay as much as £20,000 in fees to study in the UK, adding significantly to universities' and other education establishments' income.

The main problem is the huge backlog in UK visa application processing that has occurred. Some 14,000 applications from Pakistan alone are sitting in a processing queue. This could put thousands of students off studying in the UK, claims the vice chancellors’ group.

Many students who were due to start this academic year are already missing lectures due to a lack of visa. The problem has become so serious that universities are filming lectures for foreign students to use to catch up on missed work.

Professor Steve Smith, the president of UUK, told the UK Border Agency, that deals with UK visas, "It is of huge academic, cultural and financial benefit to the UK for these highly talented people to come to our country to be educated. We are in danger of sending out a message that the UK does not welcome international students."

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