UK's stricter visa rules for students.

Indian students along with other foreign students who want to study in the UK will be required to meet stricter entry criteria, the UK government British home secretary Alan Johnson announced recently. The new regulations will ensure that students studying below degree level have a limited ability to work in the UK, and that their dependants cannot work in Britain at all. It will be even harder for bogus students, whose only aim is to work in the UK, to come into the country, the British government has said. The details announced Wednesday come a week after Britain suddenly stopped issuing student visas in north India, Bangladesh and Nepal, suspecting large scale "irregularities". 

The UK Border Agency announced on Feb 1, it was not accepting any new applications under the Tier 4 student route of the points-based system at the following visa application centres: North India - New Delhi, Jalandhar and Chandigarh, Bangladesh - Dhaka, Sylhet and Chittagong & Nepal – Kathmandu.

The concerns were raised last year when a media investigation revealed that thousands of foreign nationals were residing in the UK under the false cover of bogus universities in the cities of London, Manchester and Bradford. The home secretary also confirmed that the government will implement plans to introduce a points test by 2011 for those who wish to earn British Citizenship.  Johnson said: "The Points Based System was introduced to provide a rigorous system to manage legitimate access to the UK to work and study, with the ability to respond to changing circumstances. We want foreign students to come here to study, not to work illegally, and today we have set out necessary steps which will maintain the robustness of the system we introduced last year. I make no apologies for that." 

The new measures include: 

* A good standard of English (equivalent of holding just below a GCSE in a foreign language) will be needed to come to the UK and study to improve English language competency further; 

* A good standard of English (again equivalent of holding just below a GCSE in a foreign language) will need to be demonstrated in order to study any other course below degree level; 

* Restricting the lowest level courses (A-levels and equivalent) to only the most trusted institutions; 

* Halving the amount of time a student studying below first degree level or on a foundation degree course, will be able to work, to just ten hours during term time; 

* A ban on bringing in dependants for anyone studying a course for less than six months; and 

* A ban on dependants of anyone studying a course lower than foundation or undergraduate degree level from working - they will face removal from the UK if found doing so. 

* A ban on foreign students studying below degree level if the course includes a work placement - unless that course is being provided by a university, college or training provider which has the status of "highly trusted sponsor"; 

* A requirement for students to demonstrate their English language ability by passing an approved secure test - this will apply to all students studying below (foundation) degree level, including those coming to study English language; and 

* Introduction of tougher criteria for defining which course providers count as "highly trusted sponsors" of foreign students. We expect that all publicly funded universities and colleges will count as highly trusted, and we will ensure that there is a rapid but rigorous system for ensuring that private training colleges can also gain that status as soon as possible. 

CRACK DOWN ON POTENTIAL ABUSE OF THE SYSTEM

The UK government said it "recognises the essential contribution genuine international students bring - economically, academically and socially - to the country as a whole, as well as to the universities and colleges in which they study. "However these steps are part of the government's commitment to crack down on potential abuse of the system." These changes are part of a radical overhaul of the student system that began last year. Since March 2009, the government has required all foreign students to be sponsored by a UK Border Agency licensed college and to demonstrate they can support themselves once they get here before being granted a visa. Also since March, any college or university wanting to bring in international students must be accredited and licensed. This has reduced the number of institutions able to bring students to the UK from over 4,000 to approximately 2,000.  Alan Johnson said: "We have already made fundamental changes to the immigration system to control migration in a way that is firm, and has a positive impact on our work force and economy. From 2011 we will put the mechanisms in place that will ensure that people who are allowed to become citizens have earned their right to stay here. We will do this using a points test, giving us the ability to take clear, enforceable decisions about who should be allowed to stay permanently, with the flexibility to raise or lower the threshold for citizenship, depending on the current interests of the country and economy."  Under the new rules anyone wishing to become a permanent resident will have to earn their right to citizenship. This will restrict the number of economic migrants granted citizenship, for example by limiting it only to those who have the qualifications or skills that the economy needs, or are living in parts of the country where there are specific skills shortages that they can fill.  They will also have to demonstrate that they could speak good English for their application to be successful. 

Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) 

Beginning February 22, all applicants for clearance to study in the UK will be required to have a special virtual number known as the Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from their prospective sponsors. That number will be obtained from the central admissions teams that issue students with unconditional offers to study in their respective colleges confirming that they qualify to pursue the specified course. Once a student accepts such an offer, he or she will be contacted to ascertain the veracity of information provided during the application, paving the way for her to be issued with a special CAS from the university in which they wish to study and provide all information needed to apply for a visa such as the start and end dates for academic course, fees and documents used to assess their eligibility. The information will be uploaded on the UK government's electronic data management system where it will be shared among the various departments, including the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to help track the immigrants. The data will also be useful for security agencies that will use it to track the aliens' activities while they are in the UK. This means, the CAS virtual number and will replace the visa letter that is currently used to support applications to enter the UK for studies or in the case of visa extensions, to continue their studies in the UK.