Education providers should be aware that the UKBA has today (9th July2012) published a statement of changes to the Immigration Rules which will in practice return students to a position very similar to that which existed prior to the introduction of the Points Based System. The new Rules will take effect on 30th July 2012 unless challenged in Parliament.
Under the new Rules, visa officers will be able to interview students regarding their intentions in coming to the UK. Interviews will not cover students' academic ability which is a matter for the sponsor nor should they assess whether students will return home at the end of their studies as there are a number of categories under which they would be entitled to remain in the UK.
However, the interviews may cover
a) The immigration history of the applicant, in the UK and other countries, for example:
- Previous visa applications for the UK and other countries, including reasons for any visa refusals;
- The amount of time the applicant has spent in the UK or other countries on previous visas, and for what purpose; and
- Whether the applicant has complied with the terms of previous visas for the UK and other countries.
b) The applicant's education history, study and post study plans, for example:
- How long has elapsed since the applicant last studied, and whether the applicant has sound reasons for returning to, or commencing formal study in this area, particularly after any significant gap;
- The applicant's knowledge of, and level of research undertaken into, the proposed course of study and sponsoring institution, and living arrangements in the UK;
- The applicant's personal circumstances, where these would make it difficult to complete a full time course of study; and
- The relevance of the course to post-study plans.
Whether the applicant has the academic ability to study the proposed course is not a relevant consideration for the entry clearance officer and should not form part of any conclusion reached. The academic ability of the applicant is a judgement for the sponsor to make with the benefit of its educational expertise. Similarly the fact that the course does not represent academic progression is not a decisive factor in this consideration.
The relevance of the course to post-study plans, or vagueness about the nature of post-study plans, should not be used as a sole reason to refuse an applicant, rather it will be one of a range of factors to be considered in the round in assessing whether the student is genuine. In this context, whether the course will add to the applicant's employability or whether the course could be undertaken more cheaply in the applicant's home country should not be considered.
For those considered to be genuine students, intention to leave the UK at the end of the course is not relevant as there are many bases on which an individual could lawfully remain in the UK.
c) The financial circumstances of the applicant, for example:
- The economic circumstances of the applicant in their home country; and
- Whether the applicant has a credible income source to meet course fees and maintenance for himself and any dependants for the full period of study.
The entry clearance officer should take account of the fact that the applicant has satisfied the maintenance requirements at Appendix C and that applicants will be prepared to make considerable investment in gaining a qualification from the UK.
c) The course provider and agents, for example:
- If the applicant is applying to attend an institution that is under investigation or has been identified by the UK Border Agency as an institution of concern in relation to immigration compliance; or where the application is being managed by an agent about which there are concerns, that may be an indication the applicant is not a genuine student.
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/policyandlaw/guidance/ecg/sty/sty2/
For those of you who remember it, this is in essence a so-called "credibility" interview to assess whether in the light of the student's circumstances, he/she is "on the balance of probabilities" a genuine student. Inevitably, it has all of the subjectivity that the Points Based System was supposed to remove from the process by passing this responsibility to the sponsor. In practice it will be very similar to the type of consideration given to applicants for student visitor visas.
Students also risk having their applications refused if they do not attend for interview without reasonable excuse.
The new requirements do not apply to applicants who are nationals of one of the countries listed in Appendix H (Different documentary requirements) of the Immigration Rules: Argentina, Australia, British National (Overseas), Brunei, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Hong Kong. Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States.
Education providers should not underestimate the impact of this change and those who abandoned interviewing students when SELTs were introduced should give further consideration to re-instituting the practice.
For those of you who remember it, this is in essence a so-called "credibility" interview to assess whether in the light of the student's circumstances, he/she is "on the balance of probabilities" a genuine student. Inevitably, it has all of the subjectivity that the Points Based System was supposed to remove from the process by passing this responsibility to the sponsor. In practice it will be very similar to the type of consideration given to applicants for student visitor visas.
Students also risk having their applications refused if they do not attend for interview without reasonable excuse.
The new requirements do not apply to applicants who are nationals of one of the countries listed in Appendix H (Different documentary requirements) of the Immigration Rules: Argentina, Australia, British National (Overseas), Brunei, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Hong Kong. Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States.
Education providers should not underestimate the impact of this change and those who abandoned interviewing students when SELTs were introduced should give further consideration to re-instituting the practice.
For further information on the changes see the above link and http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/newsarticles/2012/july/18-student-interviews which also has alongside links to the new Immigration Rules.
