The UK Border Agency is failing to get to grips with student visa processing delays as it struggles with a backlog of cases that could take 24 years to tackle. In a report released Monday, the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee claimed that only 14% of Tier 4 visa applications were processed by UKBA within the promised target time in Q3, down from 28%.
Critics have attacked proposals made by the Deputy Prime Minister that some temporary migrants should pay deposits to ensure they do not overstay their visas. They warn the measure – which is part of a new crackdown on illegal immigration, mainly from within the European Economic Area – would further antagonise non-EU students and give the impression Britain is “closed”.
Syrian students at UK universities say they are facing an “impossible situation” as funding for their studies dries up and some institutions are unable to cover the shortfall. Many fear that they will be unable to complete their studies and even sent home, where they could face torture or assassination.
A Premium Account Management Service and the prospect of online applications for UK-based student visa submissions are among the UKBA service updates on the horizon for the UK's Tier 4 student visa sponsors, as outlined at the Study UK 2012 annual conference last week in London.
The National Union of Students' (NUS) International division has posted up a video online, detailing the turnaround it helped achieve for international students that were at risk of deportation in the London Met fiasco. NUS International Students Officer, Daniel Stevens, underlines that HTS closures continue to impact those at private colleges.
Students from the new EU states Romania and Bulgaria are facing waiting times of up to nine months when applying for permission to work part time during their university studies in the UK, the UK Border Agency has revealed. Affected students have said the situation is putting their degrees at risk and forcing them into illegal work.
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.
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.
