The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has suspended the licences of around 50 colleges over a few days since 18 January 2010. The colleges appear to be mainly English Language and vocational colleges including some very large ones. There are some indications that the suspensions may be related to a significant increase in the number of students applying to come to the UK from India and Nepal. Student applications from the India have increased significantly since the introduction of the Points Based System and the UK Border Agency are believed to have had concerns for some time about the number of visa letter being issued by UK colleges to students in India.
In many cases the colleges affected had no forewarning of the suspension of their licences. They were not visited by the UKBA but simply received a letter from the UKBA suspending their licence and stating that they had identified a number of concerns. The letters refer to paragraph 281 of the Guidance for Sponsor Applications which states that “A confirmation of acceptance for studies or visa letter may only be issued under Tier 4 if the sponsor is satisfied that the student both intends and is able to follow the course of study concerned”. They go on to say that the UKBA has reason to be concerned about the activity of a number of international students to whom the college has issued visa letters and that in view of that information, believe the college has been failing in its duty to assess students’ intentions effectively and is therefore posing a risk to effective immigration control.
The letters state that “In order to give you the opportunity to explain these discrepancies before we begin revocation action, we have suspended your licence with immediate effect.” However, the colleges are not given the details of the UKBA’s concerns to be able to address them. Rather, the letter goes on to say that the UKBA will be in contact to further explain their concerns. Enquiries of the UKBA have revealed that their aim is to provide this further detail by the end of January 2010. In the meantime colleges remain suspended and have had their names removed from the Register of Sponsors causing damage to their reputations and potential financial loss. Prospective students are left unclear about what will happen to their applications and as suspended colleges are not allowed to issue any visa letters or confirmation of acceptance for studies, students who require these documents to submit an in-time application to extend their stay are unable to obtain them.
Anecdotally, the reasons for the suspensions are being put down to poor procedures for the recruitment of students including failure by the college and/or its agents to ensure that students have a sufficient knowledge of English to be able to take the course; failure by students to enrol on their courses; and poor attendance. If there is evidence that these or other problems exist, it is of course right that colleges be required to take the appropriate steps to address them and to meet their responsibilities as licence holders. However, the current issue is not whether those problems exist but the detrimental effect of the sanctions that have been taken against the colleges without any forewarning or sight of the evidence against them and therefore without any opportunity to respond. Nor is it clear why the UKBA chose this blanket approach when other options were available such as temporary downgrading of the licence to a “B” rating followed by withdrawal where no improvement was seen.
Colleges and representative bodies have been making representations to the UKBA over the handling of this matter but many are still waiting to hear the detail of the UKBA’s concerns. When the UKBA does contact them either via a visit or by letter, the college will then have 28 days to respond. Whilst the response might be partly explanatory and defensive, it is important that it should also refer to the action a college has taken or plans to take to address these issues for the future. The UKBA will consider the response and come back to the college within 14 days with a decision on whether they intend to withdraw the licence, downgrade it to a “B” or take no further action.
If you are a college that has been affected by the suspensions and would like to speak to us about immigration support now or in the future, or would like to contribute your experiences to any further articles on this topic or, we would like to hear from you at enquiries@veristat.co.uk
