Britain may tighten controls on visas for overseas students
Source: Agencies |
November 13, 2009, Friday
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THE British government is considering tighter controls on entry visas for overseas students, to address concerns that illegal immigrants are using them as an easy way to get into the country.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said officials would look at the possibility of raising the minimum level of course for which students could gain permission to stay.
One in seven visa applications are for students, with 242,000 granted in the 2007/08 financial year and almost 100,000 refused.
Brown addressed public concern over immigration in a speech yesterday in London, acknowledging that many people in Britain fear foreign workers are taking their jobs and putting strains on local housing.
He said the visa review would also look at rules that allow students on shorter and lower qualification courses to work part-time, to see if they were filling jobs "that would be better filled by young British workers."
But the Immigration Advisory Service charity said tighter rules could hit colleges and universities, some of which rely on overseas students for more than half their income.
"Student visas represent a major source of income to this country," the charity's Chief Executive Keith Best told BBC television.
Brown said immigration was neither an issue for fringe parties nor a taboo subject.
"I have never agreed with the lazy elitism that dismisses immigration as an issue, or portrays anyone who has concerns about immigration as a racist," he said.
"People worry about whether immigration will undermine their wages and the job prospects of their children. They worry about whether their grown-up children will be able to get housing anywhere near them."
Labour ministers have long hailed immigration as benefiting the economy. But they have been accused of ignoring the worries of poorer families who blame migrant workers for their problems in deprived areas where jobs and social housing are scarce.
Those concerns have seen a rise in support for the anti-immigration British National Party, which has scored gains in local council polls and won two seats in June's European Parliament elections.
Steep rises in immigration over the past decade and a recession-led climb in unemployment are set to be a factor in a general election due by June next year.
The Conservatives pledge they would impose a cap on immigration. But Brown rejected fixed limits on migrant numbers as damaging to employers seeking workers.
He said the government would instead tighten its policy of "managed migration" through a points-based system introduced last year. This restricts visas for workers from outside the European Union to professions with recruitment difficulties.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said officials would look at the possibility of raising the minimum level of course for which students could gain permission to stay.
One in seven visa applications are for students, with 242,000 granted in the 2007/08 financial year and almost 100,000 refused.
Brown addressed public concern over immigration in a speech yesterday in London, acknowledging that many people in Britain fear foreign workers are taking their jobs and putting strains on local housing.
He said the visa review would also look at rules that allow students on shorter and lower qualification courses to work part-time, to see if they were filling jobs "that would be better filled by young British workers."
But the Immigration Advisory Service charity said tighter rules could hit colleges and universities, some of which rely on overseas students for more than half their income.
"Student visas represent a major source of income to this country," the charity's Chief Executive Keith Best told BBC television.
Brown said immigration was neither an issue for fringe parties nor a taboo subject.
"I have never agreed with the lazy elitism that dismisses immigration as an issue, or portrays anyone who has concerns about immigration as a racist," he said.
"People worry about whether immigration will undermine their wages and the job prospects of their children. They worry about whether their grown-up children will be able to get housing anywhere near them."
Labour ministers have long hailed immigration as benefiting the economy. But they have been accused of ignoring the worries of poorer families who blame migrant workers for their problems in deprived areas where jobs and social housing are scarce.
Those concerns have seen a rise in support for the anti-immigration British National Party, which has scored gains in local council polls and won two seats in June's European Parliament elections.
Steep rises in immigration over the past decade and a recession-led climb in unemployment are set to be a factor in a general election due by June next year.
The Conservatives pledge they would impose a cap on immigration. But Brown rejected fixed limits on migrant numbers as damaging to employers seeking workers.
He said the government would instead tighten its policy of "managed migration" through a points-based system introduced last year. This restricts visas for workers from outside the European Union to professions with recruitment difficulties.
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