Student visas face review
By politics.co.uk staff
A sharp rise in the number of non-EU students applying to study in Britain has triggered a review of their visas.
The 12 months to March saw 313,011 foreign students granted visas, up 32% on the preceding year, official figures showed.
A rise in the number of dependants from nearly 25,000 to over 31,000 exacerbated the impact.
Immigration minister Damian Green announced the government would review the situation in a bid to restrict the number of immigrants ‘abusing’ the student route.
“I am undertaking a thorough evaluation of the student system over the coming weeks and months and I will introduce new measures to minimise abuse and tighten the system further,” he pledged.
Britain’s universities, already struggling under the weight of huge funding cuts, will be dismayed by the news that the total number of foreign students – who pay significantly more than British students – could fall.
The coalition government appears to prioritise addressing Britain’s immigration problems, however, after concerns about the issue dominated the general election campaign.
