GLOBAL CITIZEN - For College Students, Working in the UK Just Got Tougher

The recent changes in the UK government's immigration rules related to Tier-4 student visas are causing some concern in India.The new rules include preventing non-EU foreign students at publicly-funded colleges from working August onwards and banning such college students from extending their Tier-4 visas unless they are studying at an embedded college. Further, college students will be banned from switching visas to Tiers 2 and Tier 5 and will be required to apply from outside the country from this autumn.Tier-4 dependents will no longer be allowed to take up low or unskilled jobs but can work parttime or full-time in skilled jobs.

“Immigration offenders want to sell illegal access to the UK jobs' market ­ and there are plenty of people willing to buy . UK taxpayers, who are helping to pay for publicly-funded colleges, expect them to be providing top-class education, not a back door to a British work visa,“ UK's immigration minister James Brokenshire said while announcing the changes.

Meanwhile, representatives from the UK Visas and Immigration and the British deputy high commission, Chandigarh, recently warned potential applicants of the risks associated with visa fraud and explained how to visit the UK legally, at a seminar hosted by local MP Bhagwant Mann in Sangrur.

British deputy high commissioner David Lelliott said: “India is the UK's biggest visa operation, and while the vast majority of applicants are genuine and comply with the rules, even a small percentage of people breaking the rules leads to a large level of fraud and illegal migration.“

While the new rules are causing a lot of concern among Indian students seeking to study in the UK, experts feel that it is important to understand that many of the recent changes apply to only those studying at the college level rather than at university level.

“A-level and international foundation year courses are essential study routes in the UK to assist students both from the European economic area (EEA) and nonEAA to go on to complete degrees at UK universities. New non-EEA students at publicly-funded colleges will lose the right to work in order to align their working rights with those of international students at private colleges.For those who are legitimately studying in the UK on further education courses, the work restriction will prevent college students from working for the currently permissible 10 hours per week.The home office is drawing a line between studying and working in the UK for all visa-restricted college students, although there are no changes to the ability for university-level students to work part-time during term time and full-time during vacation periods,“ said Kamal Rahman, part ner, immigration group of London firm Mishcon de Reya Solicitors.

Rahman said the move to prevent some categories of students from extending their Tier-4 visas and switching to Tier 5 and Tier 2 are aimed at preventing Tier-4 students, who are 17 years or under, from working in the UK.“Tier 1 and Tier 2 are skilled visa categories which may not be appropriate categories for someone of school-leaving age,“ she said.

Tier-4 (general) students, who have completed university degrees, are not affected by this change, so the new rules may not necessarily make the UK less attractive to Indian students whose goal is to undertake a university degree and then remain in the UK to work after graduation, Rahman added.

Not everyone, however, is upbeat. “The impact of visa restrictions has already been felt with a clear drop in the number of Indian students selecting UK as a destination. In recent years, the outbound Indian students' mobility is linked to opportunities for employment. With strictures on non-EU students getting more rigorous, a further decline in the number of Indian students selecting UK as a destination to study is likely,“ said Maria Mathai, a Delhi-based education consultant. There were 12,000 student visas granted to Indians by the UK high commission last year.

Navinder Kalsi, director of UKbased consultancy GB Immigration said that the new rules will make the UK attractive as a study destination only for students from wealthy families.

Source | Economic Times | 20 July 2015