UK Foreign Students can stay an Extra year
August 1st, 2008 | by admin |Students already in the UK will be able to stay for an extra year – making it two years in total – after they graduate. This is soon to be announced by ministers and will be followed with legislation to clamp down on illegal colleges helping people enter the UK on the pretence of studying.
Since 2003, 1.6 million UK student visas have been issued and are by far the most common UK visa issued. 309,000 foreign students came to the UK in 2006, an increase of 9% from 2005. The number of students being granted full UK work permits after their studies has also doubled in recent years.
Under present UK visa rules, foreign students in the UK are allowed to work for 1 year after they graduate from their studies. The Immigration Minister, Liam Byrne, announced that UK foreign students will be allowed to work for 2 years from 2009. Liam Byrne unveiled the plans with Bill Rammell, the Further Education Minister, along with details on how to clamp down on bogus colleges. From 2009, all foreign students coming to the UK will need a certificate of sponsorship from their intended institution of study. When foreign students apply for a visa to come to the UK, Border and Immigration Agency staff will check that the institution is a genuine provider of education, rather than acting as a front to bring people into the UK.
It is no surprise that these steps have been taken due to the value of foreign students in the UK. Foreign students are worth around £8.5 billion a year to the UK economy so letting the brightest and best UK foreign students work for an extra year is great for British business. As can be expected with a move of this type, rule-breakers will face much tougher sanctions. As well as the clampdown on sham colleges, all foreign students in the UK will require a compulsory ID card from November 2008.
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