Visa Changes Hit 450 UK Colleges

More than 450 colleges in the UK have been banned from teaching foreign students, as part of new visa restrictions introduced by the government. As part of a plan to reduce immigration to the UK, there has been a crack down on bogus colleges set up simply as a way to for fake students to get visas.

For years there have been hundreds of colleges offering internationals an easy way into the UK through fake courses that allowed them to claim student visas. However, earlier this year the government announced that this abuse of the immigration system was to be put under scrutiny.

Licences Revoked

Of the 450 colleges affected so far, almost 400 of them failed to register with the new inspection system and so lost the privilege of recruiting international students. The rest either had their licences revoked or suspended due to a variety of misdemeanours. Common problems were colleges that were unable to show records of student attendance, or that they had checked the students' qualifications. However, one college could not even provide a list of enrolled students or a timetable of classes.

In total the banned colleges could have brought up to 11,000 international students into the UK this year, and Immigration minister Damian Green has emphasised how immigration abuse has gone on for too long:

"The changes we have made are beginning to bite. Too many institutions were offering international students an immigration service rather than an education and too many students have come to the UK with the aim of getting work and bringing over family members. Only first-class education providers should be given licences to sponsor international students."

Students Still Welcome

Despite these college closures, both the UK government and Universities UK have been quick to emphasise that authentic colleges and universities have nothing to worry about. International students are still more than welcome and the visa restrictions will not affect genuine students looking to study in the UK.

If you are considering applying to study in England and are worried about the authenticity of institutions, you should check out our College Visas Guide and check this list of government registered institutions.

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