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UK announces further details of student visa policy changes

07 April 2011 11:50 (UTC +04:00)

These changes will be introduced over a period of time in order to allow overseas students and the UK education sector time to adjust.

The UK government yesterday (31 March) issued a ’Statement of Intent’ setting out how Tier 4 of the Points-Based System (PBS) will operate. The ’statement of intent’ is intended to provide student migrants and education sponsors with detailed information about the requirements for studying the UK, and when they will be introduced. The first round of changes will come into effect on 21 April 2011, with further changes taking effect in summer 2011 and in April 2012.

The Government is clear that the UK has a worldwide reputation for providing quality education to overseas students, and is the destination of choice for many people wishing to study abroad. The proposals aim to ensure that only the highest quality international students to come to Britain.

The main amendments to Tier 4 student policy are summarized below:

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.

ï‚§ 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.

In order prepare our stakeholders for these changes, UKBA have published details of how this significant overhaul will take shape. A full PDF (English) guide to the proposed Tier 4 changes can be found via the following link:

http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsarticles/2011/march/54-student-visas
The UK government has committed to reforming all routes of entry to the UK in order to bring immigration levels under control. The student changes will work alongside the annual limit on economic migration, and reforms to family and settlement routes planned for later this year.