Chris Attwood Home Office Science Migration and Border Analysis By misuse we mean Sponsors Bogus colleges Students Application documents English language Course nonattendance ID: 384770
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Slide1
Misuse of the student route
Chris Attwood
Home Office Science: Migration and Border AnalysisSlide2
By misuse, we mean ....
Sponsors:
‘Bogus’ colleges
Students:Application documentsEnglish languageCourse non-attendanceWorking in breach of terms and conditionsOverstaying visa
2Slide3
Evidence discussion
1) Why do some students comply whilst others don’t?
2) Why do some sponsors comply whilst others don’t?
3) How do sponsors monitor compliance among students? 3Slide4
One in five non-EEA students remain in the system five years after first being granted a student visa......
4
Source: Home Office Migrant Journey Second Report
The 2004 cohort – immigration status in 2009, five years after their initial visa, by route Slide5
.....with India, in particular, standing out.
5
Source: Home Office Migrant Journey Second Report
185,600 students in 2004 cohort were granted student visas
79% had left the immigration system within 5 years;
15% had transferred to other routes, mainly work
3% had obtained settlement
- 6% were still students
Student visas granted in 2004 and their immigration status at end of 2009 – high volume countriesSlide6
Of those 6% who were still students in 2009 after 5 years in the UK, over half were postgraduates......
6
Long term students: Study route sample by level of study
Source: Home Office Migrant Journey Second reportSlide7
......with long-term Chinese students generally studying at Universities and Pakistani students at FE/HE colleges
7
Long-term students: Study route sample by type of institution
Source: Home Office Migrant Journey Second reportSlide8
Compliance appears to be an issue in privately funded HEI’s ....
Privately funded HE/FE
institutions
Publicly funded HE/FE
institutions
English Language schools
Enrolled on course and continuing to study
39%
47%
65%
Regularised their stay or left the
country
12%
15%
15%
Did not enter having been issued with a visa letter or a CAS
23%
30%
6%
Have no record of leaving the
country and
do not have a valid reason to remain (potentially ‘non-compliant’)
26%
8%
14%
Total
100
%
(1.191 respondents)
100
%(2,397 respondents)100%(2,060 respondents)
8
Students’ compliance by type of sponsoring institution
Source: Home Office Occasional Paper 90: Overseas students in the immigration system Slide9
.... but is less of an issue in universities
9
Universities
Enrolled on course and continuing to study
84%
Regularised their stay or left the
country
4%
Did not enter
UK having
been issued with a visa letter or a CAS
9%
Have no record of leaving the
country and
do not have a valid reason to remain (potentially ‘non-compliant’)
2%
Total
100
%
(12,656 respondents)
Source: Home Office Occasional Paper 90: Overseas students in the immigration system Slide10
Non-attendance an issue at privately funded colleges ...
‘Points-based system Tier 4: Attendance at privately funded colleges’. (
2011) London
: Home Office.Slide11
... notably for Indian and Pakistani students
‘Points-based system Tier 4: Attendance at privately funded colleges’. (
2011) London
: Home Office.Slide12
Enforcement arrests for Tier 4 visa holders increased in 2010...
12
Number of Tier 4 visa arrests by enforcement; Sept 2009 – Nov 2010
Source: Home Office: Points-based system Tier 4 attendance at privately funded colleges; Annex: Background InformationSlide13
...and Tier 4 visa applicants were responsible for 13.5% of asylum claims matched to previous applications in 2010
13
Asylum applications matched to PBS T4 (General) Student Visas
Source: Home Office: Points-based system Tier 4 attendance at privately funded colleges; Annex: Background InformationSlide14
Students from India and Pakistan are most likely to seek employment in the UK after graduation
Future plans
Overall
China
India
USA
Malaysia
Nigeria
Canada
Pakistan
Hong Kong
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
Seek short term employment in UK
37% (2,262)
33%
46%
36
%
37
%
45%
33%
46
%
29%
Seek long term employment in UK
45% (2,305)
32%
55%
42
%
51%
54%
33%
63%
41%
Undertake further study in UK
49% (2,296)
43%
39%
29
%
55
%
69%
32%
56
%
42%
Apply for perm. residence in UK
29% (2,287)25% 27%24% 30%39% 14%47% 31%
14
Likelihood of 2010 graduates to undertake various activities in next 5 years, by nationality
Source: Tracking International Graduate Outcomes 2011, i-graduateSlide15
Document fraud an issue for student visas ....
Tier 4 applications were responsible for 41% of all forgery detections in applications for visas made in 2010, compared to 27% for visit visas, 3% for Tier 1.
Vast majority of forgeries related to supporting documents, mainly bank statements submitted as evidence of funds.
Top three posts where Tier 4 applications were refused on the basis of forged documents in 2010:
New Delhi (India),
Islamabad (Pakistan)
Dhaka (Bangladesh)
(UKBA, 2010a: 21).
UK Border Agency (2011) Points-based system Tier 4: attendance at
privately
funded
colleges
(including Annex). London: Home OfficeSlide16
.... as is speaking English
Anecdotal evidence suggests many Tier 4 visa holders refused entry at port are refused because Border Force Operators determined they could not speak English to the standard required.
UK Border Agency (2011) Points-based system Tier 4: attendance at
privately
funded colleges
(including Annex). London: Home OfficeSlide17
And, interviews to test credibility suggest false intentions to study
HO pilot study into role of using interviewing powers for entry clearance officers (ECOs) to the T4 route – 2,316 interviews in 13 overseas posts.
ECOs could have potentially refused around one third of those granted visas.
Largest potential grounds for refusal on credibility grounds referred to:
applicants’ intentions to study – indicators included poor academic knowledge, lack of knowledge about the course; +
applicants’ intentions to leave the UK at end of course.
Credibility refers to
intentions to study proposed course, intentions to leave the UK at the end of the course, ability to maintain themselves and dependants
.Slide18
18Slide19
19Slide20
Notes
UKBA Sponsorship Management Unit analysis (September 2010) of 18,304 international students studying at universities, English language schools, publicly funded + privately funded educational establishments.
Suggested attendance levels at private institutions relatively low: 39% of non-EEA students were ‘enrolled on a course and continuing to study’ in private institutions, 47% for public institutions, 65% for language schools
.
Roll-call analysis of the same data,
26% of non-EEA students in private institutions were found to be non-compliant
(‘have not left the UK and do not have a valid reason to remain’), 8% for public institutions, 14 per cent for language schools and 6 per cent overall. (Tier 4, evidence base).
Note these findings are based on a sample of data and should be taken as indicative only.