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Stricter Visa Rules for UK Education

DUBAI - Students travelling to the UK from the UAE and elsewhere will have to earn 40 points to qualify for a student visa from March 31 under a new point-based system.

British universities, for the first time, are mandated to ‘sponsor’ international students, effectively taking legal responsibility for them when they are in the UK.

Visa issuing authorities have warned the new system will crack down on ‘fraud and forgery’ by making more checks on documents submitted and students can be banned from entering the UK for a period of 10 years.

The changes are expected to impact all international students including nearly 2500 Emirati and expatriate students, who apply to the UK every year.

As per the new rules, 30 points will be awarded on receipt of the admission or the visa letter from the university — now sponsor — while another 10 will be awarded for showing sufficient funds to support course fee and living expenses.

“The real change is that there is a legal relationship between who is coming (to the UK) and who is bringing them. The visa will have the name of the institution the student will be studying in. It is the responsibility of the institution to inform the UK Border Agency if the student does not report for the course or is working too many hours,” Jackie Colton, Visa Services Operations Manager for Iran and the Gulf States and the UK Border Agency’s spokesperson in Dubai.

Earlier student visas were valid for any university. However, visas will now be specific to the colleges they enrol in.

The UK is a major study destination for local and expatriate students in the UAE and the Gulf.

Education UK figures reveal that in 2006-07, over 2200 UAE domiciled students went for higher education in the UK, while 2007-08 saw over 2,400 students applying.

Of this, 40 per cent alone were Emiratis. The number of international students is expected to increase further this year because of the recession.

The new laws, borrowed heavily from the Australian tier-based system, are expected to be ‘simpler, more transparent, objective and user-friendly’ and are a part of the UK’s overhaul of its immigration system.

Laws now require students to assess or test themselves online at www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk, to ensure they meet the 40-points deemed necessary to qualify, before applying for a visa.

“We advise students to self-assess first. If they have not got enough points, we do not want them to apply. The two tests are to make sure it (the process) is more objective. Visa officers will no longer need to make the decision if students are able and intend to follow the course. That is now the decision of the university,” said Colton.

Officials would closely scrutinise all documents submitted by students. “We are cracking down on fraud and forgery. We are making more checks on documents. If they are forged, they will be refused entry in to the UK and there will also be a ban on any visa requests for the next 10 years. We could also refer forged documents to the local police,” she said.

Visas normally take anywhere between three to 15 days to be processed and fees of student and other types of visas are expected to go up soon.

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