A new Immigration Bill introduced in the UK that intends to make it harder for immigrants to overstay has been criticised by those in the sector who believe the bill will do nothing to improve the UK’s reputation with international students as a welcoming country.
New rules include landlords being required to ascertain valid visa status of their tenants; a levy required for accessing the country’s National Health Service (NHS); and stricter deportation rules and penalties for employers breaching employment law.
Daniel Stevens, NUS International Officer, pointed out that the new requirement on landlords carried a risk of racial profiling. “Landlord checks will lead to racial profiling by those seeking to avoid the complicated nature of checking someone’s immigration status, a requirement left until now to certified and trained individuals in the employ of the Home Office,” he said in a list of 10 concerns that the new bill raises.
“Our focus is on making this work for the housing market and minimising regulation”
The government explained it would aim to ensure the vetting process was not onerous. “Our focus is on making this work for the housing market and minimising regulation. If a landlord has not had an answer from the Home Office within 48 hours they can go ahead and rent,” details the factsheet.
Immigration Minister, Mark Harper, said, “We do not want to disadvantage legitimate landlords and tenants and have devised a system which will be effective and light-touch while making it tougher for illegal immigrants to rent property, but giving us the powers to take robust action against rogue landlords.”
Concern was also raised by Nicola Dandridge, Chief Executive of Universities UK. She said: “A number of proposals in the immigration bill have implications for international students and staff, so it is important they are piloted appropriately and impact assessed.
“Some of the reforms and rhetoric around immigration in the past have led to damaging, and often misleading, headlines overseas about the ability of genuine international students to come here to study.”
Speaking to the BBC, Theresa May employed some of that rhetoric when talking about the new £200 NHS levy. She said, “People working hard say ‘why is it that people can come in and access public services?'”
“They apply for their visa, spend on average £36,000 on tuition alone.. it is another unfair tax”
Stevens observed that foreign students, who would be most hit by those rules given they are the most populous migrant category, already invested a lot into their UK experience.
“Charging international students access to the NHS because they apply for their visa, come to the UK to spend on average £36,000 on tuition alone, and are checked when they arrive on campus is introducing another unfair tax.”
He added, “It comes alongside the removal of working rights, the introduction of biometrics, credibility interviews, tougher entry requirements and consistently negative rhetoric that taken together suggests that the UK government is unwelcome to international students.”
