Britain tightens visa guidelines to check ‘bogus’ students from India

Prasun Sonwalkar

Britain Monday announced a targeted interview system that, it said, would ensure that only genuine students from non-EU countries, including India, get its student visas.

The new measure follows a pilot scheme carried out in 13 countries, including India and Pakistan, which revealed that some applicants could not answer basic questions in English without an interpreter though they claimed in their applications that they had the ability to study at UK universities. More than 2,300 interviews were conducted during the pilot scheme, carried out between December 2011 and February 2012, and it was found that about 45 per cent of applicants from Myanmar, 29 percent from India and 38 per cent from Bangladesh would have been refused visas if they had been interviewed.

"Under the current system, UK Border Agency officers are unable to refuse some applications even if they have serious concerns over the credibility of the student. We are toughening up the system to ensure genuine students benefit from our country's excellent education sector," said Immigration Minister Damian Green. "Britain is open for business to the brightest and the best migrants but the message is clear - if you lie on your application form or try to hide your true motivation for coming to the UK then you will be found out and refused a visa."

The Home Office said the new system will run for a year and concentrate on high-risk students from India and other non-EU countries.

The Home Office also announced that new restrictions on non-EU spouses — minimum income threshold of 18,600 pounds annual salary and qualifying periods of five years, rather than two mandated earlier, are required for "sponsoring the settlement in the UK of a spouse or partner"and other — family migration categories that were announced recently came into effect Monday.

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