Student visa fraud: UK suspends sponsor status of Glyndwr University, licences of 57 private universities

UK has removed some 750 bogus colleges from the list of those entitled to bring foreign students to Britain.

LONDON: United Kingdom Minister for Visa and Immigration (UKVI) James Brokenshire told the House of Lords in a speech in the parliament that they have removed 750 bogus colleges from those entitled to bring foreign students to Britain, following allegations of student visa frauds and have suspended licence of 57 private higher education institutions.

UK Immigration and security department has recently initiated an investigation to identify those who are involved in bringing students to Britain through falsified tests.

The minister said that out of these 750 bogus colleges 400 were involved in obtaining invalid ETS certificates.

He told the house that the Home Office has suspended the sponsor status of Glyndwr University as well. Two universities – the University of Bedfordshire and the University of West London – have been told that they are no longer allowed to sponsor new students pending further investigations

“The government is not prepared to tolerate this abuse. So I can tell the House that this morning the Home Office suspended the highly-trusted sponsor status – that is the right to sponsor foreign students – of Glyndwr University.”

He revealed that the students sponsored by Glyndwr University were identified with invalid test results provided by ETS number over 230 and ranging till 350. Around 210 sponsored students at University of West London were found to have invalid test results.

The minister also told the house that as soon as the allegations of the cheating system first surfaced, they suspended the ETS testing system in UK and put a hold on all immigration applications from those in the UK using ETS certificate while mandating all overseas students be interviewed by the UK Visas and Immigration staff.

James noted that an investigation has been launched against ETS Global Ltd.

He identified that Britain's Revenue and Customs department (HMRC) has information that overseas students were earning around £20,000 a year when they are only limited to work not more than twenty hours a week.

He added that overseas students enrolled in privately funded colleges are not allowed to work at all yet one such college London School of Business and Finance has 290 overseas students who are working and paid tax last year. One such student was working sixty-hours a week for past six months.

The minister pointed out that these steps will help curb student visa fraud and will show that UK will not hesitate to take action against students, colleges and universities who do not abide by legal responsibilities.