Britain Tightens visa rules for Foreign Students

[sajiv]

Britain Tightens visa rules for Foreign Students

Britain on Wednesday unveiled stricter visa rules under which students from India and other non-European countries will require to provide their fingerprints and prove that they have money to support themselves.
Official sources said the new system, known as Tier 4, will be more transparent and easily understood and will simplify the existing immigration rules.

They said as per the new rules the students will have to be sponsored by education institutions that have been licensed by the UK Borders Agency.Home Office Minister Liam Byrne said, "Foreign students wanting to take advantage of our world-class universities and colleges must meet stringent criteria".

"All those who come to Britain must play by the rules," he said."By locking people to one identity with ID cards, alongside a tough new sponsorship system, we will know exactly who is coming here to study and crack down on bogus colleges," he said.

As per new rules, the students will need to be sponsored by a licensed education institution and obtain an identity card in advance, have a good academic track record and demonstrate they can financially support themselves and any dependants.

The rules are intended to prevent people abusing the system by entering the country as students and then disappearing, the sources said.

The new student visa system under the Points Based System will require colleges and universities to report about the international students who fail to attend courses after gaining student visas, they said.