It was announced this month that any foreign student in the UK with a student visa for a particular course will now be able to change courses or even universities. This has been a long time coming and finally foreign students in the UK are given the rights they deserve. Finally, common sense seems to have prevailed – it is becoming a rarity in the UK!
Prior to the ruling from the Court of Appeal, if an international student failed their exams or wanted to change courses – perhaps because they do not like their university or its location – their leave to remain status maybe taken away. Not only, but any application for an extension to the student visa would be immediately refused. The court ruled that international students should not be confined to a single course, nor should failing an exam mean poor academic failure. And of course it should not – there could a whole host of reasons for failing an exam. Failure does not automatically mean a student is never in classes, or working with no intention to study. It is reassuring to hear that the whole study situation would be examined should a foreign student fail an exam.
Many people have welcomed this news and quite rightly point out the victory for common sense. David Ho of Christine Lee & Co Solicitors Ltd said,
“at last the judiciary has shown some common sense. We have been saying this for years that the whole circumstances must be looked at. There will always be students who choose the wrong course and or feel they are being poorly taught and would like to change institutions. Or there will be unexpected circumstances that caused them to miss or fail an exam. It would be grossly unfair if having applied to study in the UK they are refused extension or have their leave to remain cancelled merely because they did not complete their original course for whatever reason. ”
Solicitor David Ho further added that “Any students that have had their application to extend ‘leave to remain’ refused or cancelled because of the above reasons may now have a case to appeal this decision. Students should seek legal advice if they wish to appeal and continue their studies in the UK.”
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