Misuse of the student route

1. Misuse of the student route Chris Attwood Home Office Science: Migration and Border Analysis

2. By misuse, we mean .... • Sponsors: • ‘Bogus’ colleges • Students: • Application documents • English language • Course non-attendance • Working in breach of terms and conditions • Overstaying visa

3. 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?

4. One in five non-EEA students remain in the system five years after first being granted a student visa...... The 2004 cohort – immigration status in 2009, five years after their initial visa, by route Source: Home Office Migrant Journey Second Report

5. .....with India, in particular, standing out. Student visas granted in 2004 and their immigration status at end of 2009 – high volume countries 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 Source: Home Office Migrant Journey Second Report

6. Of those 6% who were still students in 2009 after 5 years in the UK, over half were postgraduates...... Long term students: Study route sample by level of study Source: Home Office Migrant Journey Second report

7. ......with long-term Chinese students generally studying at Universities and Pakistani students at FE/HE colleges Long-term students: Study route sample by type of institution Source: Home Office Migrant Journey Second report

8. Compliance appears to be an issue in privately funded HEI’s .... Students’ compliance by type of sponsoring institution Source: Home Office Occasional Paper 90: Overseas students in the immigration system

9. .... but is less of an issue in universities Source: Home Office Occasional Paper 90: Overseas students in the immigration system

10. Non-attendance an issue at privately funded colleges ... ‘Points-based system Tier 4: Attendance at privately funded colleges’. (2011) London: Home Office.

11. ... notably for Indian and Pakistani students ‘Points-based system Tier 4: Attendance at privately funded colleges’. (2011) London: Home Office.

12. Enforcement arrests for Tier 4 visa holders increased in 2010... 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 Information

13. ...and Tier 4 visa applicants were responsible for 13.5% of asylum claims matched to previous applications in 2010 Asylum applications matched to PBS T4 (General) Student Visas Source: Home Office: Points-based system Tier 4 attendance at privately funded colleges; Annex: Background Information

14. Students from India and Pakistan are most likely to seek employment in the UK after graduation Likelihood of 2010 graduates to undertake various activities in next 5 years, by nationality Source: Tracking International Graduate Outcomes 2011, i-graduate

15. 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 Office

16. .... 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 Office

17. 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.

20. 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.