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Feb. 3 – The United Kingdom has temporarily stopped issuing student visas in Chandigarh, Jalandhar and Delhi beginning February 1 after a sudden influx of applications in 2009.
Authorities suspect the visas are being abused as a way to illegally enter the country. From October to December last year, 13,500 applications were submitted – an unusually high number compared to 1,800 and 1,200 applications received in 2008 and 2007 for the same period.
British authorities have already suspended 100 out of 2,000 U.K. licensed educational institutions pending the ongoing investigation into the matter. The regional manager of U.K. Border Agency, Charley Molloy, said in a statement: “All efforts are being undertaken to ensure that no genuine student is affected. However, the commission is not responsible for the colleges where students apply directly.”
Chinese and Indian students make up majority of international students going to the United Kingdom for higher education with China leading at 41,375 enrollments last year.
Overseas students fees are depended on by British universities as a reliable source of income beyond government grants. According to the U.K. Council for International Student Affairs, international students in total pay £4 billion (US$6.4 billion) a year in fees.
