M A I N   N E W S

UK toughens visa rules for foreign students

New Delhi, March 23
In what could be a setback to many Indian students aspiring to study in Britain, the UK government has announced a major overhaul of the student visa system, tightening the entrance criteria and the post-study work route. The changes will be introduced in stages over the next year.

There will be restrictions on work placements on courses provided by non-university sponsors, Chris Dix, Regional Director, UK Border Agency, today told reporters here, maintaining that new rules were to prevent abuse of the student visa route by unscrupulous agents.

‘Indian students needn’t worry’ The changes will protect the interests of high quality Indian students wishing to study in the UK, Chris Dix, Regional Director of the UK Border Agency, said. “These changes are, however, bad news for all those students, institutions and unscrupulous agents who have tried to abuse the student visa route,” Dix said

Apart from ending the current system where graduates are able to do jobs of any level, including unskilled work or no job at all for two years, the visa changes also include provision for work for students only from publicly funded universities and educational colleges while the remaining students would not have the right to do so. “In future, they (graduates) will have to secure a skilled job with a tier-two sponsor,” Dix said. He further said graduates would have to get jobs that were of their level and also with firms that were registered with the authorities to hire overseas employment.

The level of English speaking has also been raised from the current requirement of B1 level to an upper intermediate (B2) level for degree courses. Moreover, UK Border Agency staff can refuse entry to students who cannot speak English without an interpreter and who, therefore, do not meet the required minimum standards. Also, only postgraduate students at universities for longer duration than 12 months and government-sponsored students will be able to bring their dependents. At the moment, all students of long courses are able to bring dependants.

Another major change that could affect Indian students is that all educational institutions in the UK that want to be sponsors will have to become highly trusted sponsors by April 2012 and become accredited by statutory education inspection bodies by the end of 2012.

Other changes include the limit on the overall time that can be spent on a student visa in the UK - three years at levels below degree, as now, and five years at degree level and above. At present there is no limit for study at or above degree level. — PTI