Immigration

Rejections of visa applications to study English in the US have soared in Turkey in recent months, causing panic among agents and US ELT providers for whom Turkey is a key source market. The rejections are linked to a Turkish visa fraud case in the US. Agency association UED cites up to 80% refusal rates.

From 2016 non-EU nationals will have to earn at least £35,000 per annum to apply for permanent residency in the UK, it was confirmed this week. The measure, which is part of new immigration rules announced in February, is designed to “break the link between coming to the UK to work and staying forever”, but could further damage the UK’s appeal as a study destination.

A faculty head at the University of Southern California, one of America’s most internationalised universities, has told the PIE News that student mobility will play an important role in helping the global economy recover from crisis.

Taiwan has been included in the US's Visa Waiver Program, which permits visa-free travel to the United States for up to 90 days for business and tourism, including language travel. Envision Recruit, one of Taiwan's leading agencies, told The PIE News the move could spur Taiwanese interest in studying English in America which has fallen in recent years.

Demand to learn German in Spain has surpassed that of French for the first time, following a 15% spike in interest in the language last year. Driving the trend is a desire among learners to find work in Germany and escape high levels of unemployment at home, with fluency their only barrier.

The Metropolitan Police has overhauled its processing procedures, after hundreds of non-EU students in London were forced to queue overnight in the rain last week to register with them. Students now have until Christmas to complete the registration process either by themselves or through their university.

UK prime minister, David Cameron, has expanded Brazil’s Science without Borders scholarship programme in the UK to include pre-sessional English courses, following reports students were being turned away after failing English entry tests. Along with additional PhD funding the courses will be worth an extra £20 million to the UK.

A £2million hardship will be used to cover relocation costs for London Metropolitan University students displaced by the UK university’s loss of highly trusted sponsor status, it was revealed this week. It follows a high court decision last Friday to allow all non-EU students at the university to remain in the UK...

A bill that sought to expand the number of visas issued to international students of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) by 55,000 was defeated last week in the US House of Representatives, although some accord on the issue was reached. Political support for easier access for STEM students to the UK is also gathering...

International students affected by London Metropolitan University's stripping of HTS status will be able to continue their studies from Monday, after a high court ruling last week. The decision comes as London Metropolitan University is granted the right to take legal action against the government via a judicial review for revoking its highly trusted sponsor status last month.

In a letter leaked to the Daily Mail, UK minister for universities, David Willetts has argued that international students should be removed from net migration figures to prevent a dwindling of legitimate students coming to the UK. The revelation puts him at odds with fellow cabinet members who want to slash student visas by 2015.

Iranian students have been left in the lurch after the Canadian government closed its embassy in Tehran and the Iranian embassy in Ottawa last Friday. Many Iranian students fear they will be unable to obtain or renew their student visas with just weeks until the start of term.

A cross-party parliamentary report has called for international students to be removed from net migration figures, claiming the government’s policy of including them is damaging to the economy. It also calls for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to help the UK expand its share of the "lucrative" student market.

London Metropolitan University has launched legal action against the government after losing its right to recruit non-EU students last week, denying alleged “systemic” failures. According to an immigration law expert, the university could force an injunction preventing revocation of the licence until a full hearing has taken place.

London Metropolitan University has become the UK’s first university to lose its right to recruit non-EU students, the UK Border Agency revealed last night. 2,700 international students, either about to start or in the midst of degree courses, will be given 60 days to find alternative universities.