New student visa rules to welcome the brightest and proposals to tackle abuse

The UKBA has proposed its latest set of rules to come into force within weeks to cut abuse of the student visa route and ensure that only the brightest and the best students can stay and work in the UK, Immigration - the Minister Damian Green had announced today.

Students can currently work in the UK for 2 years after their studies have finished, under the Tier 1 (Post-study work) route. But from 6 April, a more selective system would come into effect so only the most talented international graduates can apply to stay in the UK for work purposes.

Only those who graduate from a university, and have an offer of a skilled job at a salary of at least £20,000 (or more in some cases) from a reputable employer accredited by the UK Border Agency, will be able to continue living and working in the UK in order to benefit the British economy.

The rules are part of a radical overhaul of the student visa system, which will:

• encourage growth - a new Graduate Entrepreneur route will open, with up to 1,000 places for students working on world-class innovative ideas who want to stay and develop them but do not meet the requirements of the Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) route;
• boost the economy - young entrepreneurs or small company directors will get the chance to stay on in the UK after their studies if they have £50,000 to invest in their business;
• ensure that students can support themselves - for the first time since 2008, there will be an increase in the amount of money that students and working migrants (and their dependants) must prove they have to support themselves financially during their time in the UK; and
• tackle abuse - restricting work placements to one-third of the course for international students who are studying below degree level will ensure that those coming to the UK are here to study, not to work (as was often the case in the past). Additionally, the time that can be spent studying at degree level will be restricted to a general limit of 5 years.

Click here to read the full details of the changes that are coming into effect and the statement of intent by the Minister.

Post Study Work Visa......What Next?

Post Study Work Visa....What Next ? There are only very few options left for the PSW Visa holders. Fahmida Khan, Consultant Editor, http://www.ukeducationforall.com/ writes



PSW Overview
The Tier 1 – Post Study Work route was intended to allow recent international or Non EU graduates from most established universities / listed bodies to stay and work in UK for maximum for two years. PSW visa allows them to work without any restrictions but it cannot be extended beyond two years. A post-study worker is expected to switch into any of the below points-based system:

• Tier 1 General
• Tier 2 General or
• Tier 4

Current Situation
As of April 2011 the Tier 1 General category has been closed for all applicants.
Click here to read the full article

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What Should I do if my College Licence is suspended?

What Should I do if my College Licence is suspended?

College licence suspension means they are suspended from recruiting new students. Existing students will remain with the college as long as the licence is not withdrawn

My analytics shows that the entrant keywords for this web site are closely related to suspended colleges, which in turn reflects that popular demand is to keep a tab on their college’s current status.

During the past this blog had focused more on education policies in UK and immigration regulations in general but In order to cater to the demand based on analytics and popular queries, from now onwards this blog will be focusing more on student immigration matters, college regulations and hot topics such as suspended colleges

Mentioned below are some popular queries raised by students. In order to understand the consequences of college suspension let us see some sample cases

1. Question: I am a student, from India what if my colleges licence is withdrawn, just before i log my application to the VFS

Answer: If your approved education provider’s licence is withdrawn, your visa letter (CAS – Confirmation of acceptance of study) will become invalid and you will not be able to use it to support any application for

leave to come to the United Kingdom. Any applications made using an invalid CAS will be refused.


2. Question: I am a student at BITE, My college licence is suspended what I should do ?

Answer: Your query does not mention when your leave to remain (LTR) ends, Hovwer with the limited information I assume you have enough LTR

Refer my latest post on Suspended Colleges in UK 2011, as to how to find out whether your college’s licence is re instated or not

In short you need not do anything, Wait and hope that they will be back sooner..!

3. Question: Hello i am doing my MBA and i am left with my dissertation which i need to submit on august 12 2011 however my college is in suspension and my visa is going to get expire on 31july 2011, what do i do? do i have extend my visa from some other college or can apply from the same college which is suspension. since i had spoken in my college with regards to my extension they says, they won’t be able to provide CAS letter until college return to tier4 sponsor list, so kindly advice me what should i do. can i take conditional letter from college and apply for the visa

Answer: If your suspended college cannot issue a new CAS (to make possible you to renew your visa) you have to find another college! And apply for a fresh visa

4. Question: My College is not in operation, initially the licence was suspended and recently they have closed down the college 

Answer: It looks like your college licence was suspended and consequently withdrawn by UKBA. They will limit your permission to stay to 60 days if you were not involved in the reasons why your college had their licence withdrawn

(UKBA will not limit your permission to stay if you have less than six months left. You may want to apply for permission to stay with another approved education provider during this time)

This post will be continually updated with popular queries from you, you can check out frequently to find out further insight here

Feel free to comment on the dire consequences you faced due to the suspension of your colleges sponsor status

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Suspended Colleges in UK 2011

Suspended Colleges in UK 2011

Due to the popular request of users of this blog and unavailability of full list of suspended colleges in London or UK", I felt I should clarify the matter for our regular readers/visitors,

UKBA does not publish details of colleges whose Tier 4 sponsor license has been revoked or suspended. There is no site which updates list of all the names of suspended colleges in UK daily,

Now let us see how to find out the current list of suspended colleges in UK, by our self

The list of Register of Sponsors (Tier 4 General & Child) or Popularly known as Tier 4 List of Sponsor Colleges is regularly updated by the UKBA, You can access current list here1, compare the current list with the list provided here2, for any selected college you can see its current status by comparing these two lists

If the selected college is not in both lists then its licence is either withdrawn or suspended (Hope this answers your popular query)

If you could locate your college, then it will be of one of this category: License Upgraded or License Downgraded, or no changes at all.... in which ever situation you need not worry much, even if your college is downgraded since downgrading is a temporary measure and mostly it is upgraded back again

Tip: Use ctrl+F short cut key to locate/search your college name in the pdf

Feel free to comment on any discrepancies or suggestions/comments on the dire consequences you faced due to the suspension of your colleges sponsor status

Staying after studies

While many students pursue their education overseas for its quality, some see a student visa as an easy ‘guarantee’ for permanent residency.

By TAN EE LOO

Informative article to read, click here for more