Government announces new student visa immigration rules

22 March 2011

The Government today announced a complete overhaul of the Student Visa system of UK immigration. New tougher entrance criteria with limits on work entitlements and the closure of the post-study work route were among the changes to the student visa system announced today by Home Secretary Theresa May. The Home Office claims that the student visa route was being abused by students as well as colleges and course providers and has long been planning to overhaul the whole system. The Home Office claim that about 26 percent of students entering the UK to study disappear and cannot be accounted for. In an effort to bring tighter controls to the student visa immigration rules, the Government has today announced an almost total overhaul which changes entirely the immigration landscape for students as well as colleges and schools.

The main changes announced today are as follows:

From April 2012, any institution wanting to sponsor students will need to be classed as a Highly Trusted sponsor, and will need to become accredited by a statutory education inspection body by the end of 2012. The current system does not require this, and has allowed too many poor-quality colleges to become sponsors.
Students coming to study at degree level will need to speak English at an ‘upper intermediate’ (B2) level, rather than the current ‘lower intermediate’ (B1) requirement.
UK Border Agency staff will be able to refuse entry to students who cannot speak English without an interpreter, and who therefore clearly do not meet the minimum standard.
Students at universities and publicly funded further education colleges will retain their current work rights, but all other students will have no right to work. We will place restrictions on work placements in courses outside universities.
Only postgraduate students at universities and government-sponsored students will be able to bring their dependants. At the moment, all students on longer courses can bring their dependants.
We will limit the overall time that can be spent on a student visa to 3 years at lower levels (as it is now) and 5 years at higher levels. At present, there is no time limit for study at or above degree level.
We will close the Tier 1 (Post-study work) route, which allows students 2 years to seek employment after their course ends. Only graduates who have an offer of a skilled job from a sponsoring employer under Tier 2 of the points-based system will be able to stay to work.

The government has pledged to develop a new entrepreneur route for bright and innovative students who have a business idea and want to make it work in the UK. But like much of the current Government’s immigration policy, information about these new proposals are scant and being released piecemeal as Ministers try to get to grips with immigration policy.

The Home Secretary said:

‘International students not only make a vital contribution to the UK economy but they also help make our education system one of the best in the world. ‘But it has become very apparent that the old student visa regime failed to control immigration and failed to protect legitimate students from poor-quality colleges. ‘The changes I am announcing today re-focus the student route as a temporary one, available to only the brightest and best. The new system is designed to ensure students come for a limited period, to study, not work, and make a positive contribution while they are here. ‘My aim is not to stop genuine students coming here – it is to eliminate abuse within the system. Our stricter accreditation process will see only first-class education providers given licences to sponsor students. ‘I am delighted to announce that, alongside our stricter rules, we will ensure that innovative student entrepreneurs who are creating wealth are able to stay in the UK to pursue their ideas.’

The British coalition government has committed itself to reforming all routes of entry to the UK in order to bring immigration levels under control. The student changes announced today follow the annual limit on economic migration announced just before Christmas, and new reforms to family and settlement routes are planned for later this year. The new regulations announced today make UK immigration law and policy even more complicated than before and introduce a whole new mire of legal questions. The rules will no doubt be subjected to challenges through the appeals and court system and we will need to wait to see what the outcome of those challenges will be.

If you are an overseas student studying in the UK or presently abroad and considering coming to the UK to study, you can contact us on 020 8401 7352 for a free 30 minute telephone assessment of your circumstances and to obtain advice about your situation.

You can download a summary of the new student policy here (pdf 58kb – opens in a new window)

In 2010, the UK Border Agency conducted an exercise to track the outcomes of overseas students in the UK under Tier 4 of the points-based system. The resulting research paper showed that students at private institutions had a significantly lower rate of compliance than those at public institutions.

You can download a copy of the Government’s research about the outcomes of students at private institutions here (pdf 126kb – opens in a new window)

You can download a copy of the Governments background information Annexe on Points Based System Tier 4 – Attendance at privately funded colleges here (pdf 121kb – opens in a new window)

For more reports and analysis of the new changes to the UK Student Immigration Rules see also:

The Telegraph – foreign students to be cut by 100,000 a year

Bloomberg – UK tackles immigration with clampdown on student visa issuance

guardian.co.uk – foreign student numbers to be cut by 25%

The Telegraph – Foreign students forced to go home after studies under tough new immigration rules

migrants rights network – Reforms to the International Student route… the verdict

migrants rights network – The likely economic impact of reducing foreign students is today’s big story

migrants rights network – Second debate in Parliament on the coalition Governments ‘dangerous’ policy on overseas students