visas

The landscape of the UK higher education system has gone through a huge process of change over the past year and the effects this change will bring are still largely unknown. One group of students who face increasing uncertainty over their position in the system are foreign students. With international student visas becoming harder to obtain and EU students facing the same increased fees as UK students, many feel that overseas students are being marginalised.

A recent study (Patterns and Trends in UK Higher Education) showed that international student numbers have increased hugely in the last decade, but as the new rules are introduced, the real question is whether this trend can continue.

Increased Tuition Fees

There are a number of issues to be considered when addressing this question. First of all, there is the fact that EU students, just like British students, are facing the new £9,000 a year tuition fees from 2012 onwards. This sudden tripling of the fees will inevitably make European students think twice about coming to study in the UK, especially when there is already more expense and effort involved to study outside of their own country.

International students are an important source of income to the United Kingdom, as proven by the exceedingly high fees, which can range from £10,000 to £13,000 in London. It does not end with high tuition fees, but also with tax on money spent on renting a house, paying for the tube or merely buying some university books. VAT! VAT!

However, recently we have seen that the British government wishes to make it more difficult for international students to enter the country, through either categorizing them as high risk nationalities, or introducing a cap on the number of international student visas issued. Similarly, there is talk of the post-study work visa ceasing to exist meaning graduates must leave to go back home once they have completed their degree. But wait, there is another option to returning home.

Yes we have it. If you are able to find a job related to your field of study where you are earning £20,000 a year then... STAY! The UK seems to have a love-hate relationship with international students.

Every week we bring you a round up of all the student news from the past week, as well as the trends hitting the web at the moment. This week's includes criticisms of the student visa changes, a singing Finnish street band (pictured above) and searching Google with your voice...

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Every week we bring you a round up of all the student news from the past week, as well as the trends hitting the web at the moment. This week's includes criticisms of the student visa changes, a singing Finnish street band (pictured above) and searching Google with your voice...

The government has announced that planned cuts in UK student visas will be far less stringent than first proposed.

The British Home Secretary, Theresa May, revealed that the number of international students allowed in to the UK over the next 5 years will be cut by 260,000. Whilst this may sound like a lot, it is far fewer than the 400,000 that had been suggested by the government in March this year.

Bogus Students

The new figure accounts for about 15% of international student visas, but it is important to remember that the vast majority of the students denied a visa will be ‘bogus'. The government is specifically aiming the cuts at fake students who attend private colleges simply to gain a visa to the UK, without ever actually planning to study here. If you want to study a legitimate course at a government recognised university or college, then obtaining a visa should not be any more of a problem than it currently is.

However, the chairman of MigrationWatch UK, Sir Andrew Green, has condemned the changes despite their new increased leniency, claiming that the government is approaching the problem from the wrong angle. He suggested that instead of simply creating a headline figure to cut immigration by, there should instead be a stricter interview process before students are granted visas: