Tag Archives: student visas

Opinion: UK Border Agency plunges colleges into crisis

By The Voice | Fri 22nd January 2010 - 2:20 pm

I wrote recently about the train-wreck that is happening before our eyes with the new student visa rules. Well, there has been a new development. The UK Border Agency has abruptly suspended the visa-sponsoring licences of more than 50 private colleges without giving reasons. All over the place, crisis talks are taking place in the colleges affected, as people try to work out what on earth is happening. Is this more of the deep-rooted incompetence that we have all come to expect from the Home Office, or has a political decision been taken to expel lots of dark faces and …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged education, immigration and uk border agency | 33 Comments

Opinion: How student visas are creating crime incentives

By The Voice | Sun 10th January 2010 - 11:35 am

I am tired of reading arrant rubbish about student visas in the newspapers. So let me (as someone who helps to administer a small private college) supply an insider’s view of what is really happening.

Most political parties support the new “Points-Based System” of immigration rules as a Good Thing, and maybe it would be, if only the Home Office was fit for purpose. In practice, the UK Border Agency simply cannot keep up with its workload. Therefore the process of licensing private colleges to sponsor student visa applications is running months late and has actually tipped the …

Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged education and immigration | 3 Comments