UK's new rules promote genuine applicants

The UK government has announced its plans for a new student visa system under the Points Based System (PBS). Known as Tier 4, the new system aims to be more transparent and to simplify existing immigration rules for genuine students and education providers.

Under the new rules, universities and colleges will be required to take greater responsibility for their international students, which includes obtaining a special license for recruiting international students and reporting those who fail to attend classes.

"The new system is not meant to discourage students going to study in the UK but to weed out bogus colleges and students," said Dan Chugg, director, press and communications, British High Commission. All colleges and universities will have to maintain attendance sheets and ensure that all students’ paperwork is in order, including keeping copies of their passports and alerting the UK Border Agency (UKBA) if students fail to enrol.

Education providers who fail to follow the new rules will face a ban on recruiting international students in the future and bogus colleges will be shut down.

Representatives of British universities in India have welcomed the new rules. Richa Jain, India manager, Nottingham Trent University, said: "The new system is probably going to help increase the number of students going to the UK. And if it doesn’t, it would mean that bogus students have stopped applying. Besides, some students used to drag their degrees in order to extend their stay in the UK but, now, they would have to complete it on time."

Similarly, Kalpana Das, country co-ordinator (India), Sheffield Hallam University (SHU), added: "Often students accept offers from several universities, use one for their visa application but on arriving in the UK, end up going to a different university. As a result, the university is left with vacant seats and the government is left unaware of the student’s location. However, under the new rules, the student’s passport will specifically mention which university the student is going to and they cannot change universities."

Chugg stated that the new rules would apply to all students above the age of four outside the European economic region. "Students would also need to provide their fingerprints for biometric visas and IDs," he added. According to Liam Byrne, UK’s border and immigration minister, all those who come to Britain must abide by the rules. "By locking people to one identity with ID cards we will know exactly who is coming here to study."

Further, visas will only be granted to students who show a proven track record in education and are applying for a course that meets a minimum level of qualification. Students on courses for longer than 12 months will have to show they have sufficient funds to pay their first year of fees, plus 9,600 pounds to cover their first year in the UK. Students wishing to bring their dependants with them will need to show they have a further 535 pounds per-month for each person they bring.