Your current location:HOME >travel >A third of foreign students seeking to stay in the UK are at just SIX institutions, figures show 正文
TIME:2024-05-21 11:44:39 Source: Internet compilationEdit:travel
More than a third of foreign students who went on to claim asylum in Britain were sponsored to come
More than a third of foreign students who went on to claim asylum in Britain were sponsored to come here by just six educational institutions.
The leaked figures come amid widespread concern that higher education is being abused as an immigration route.
The statistics from a secret Home Office database, covering the 12 months to March 2023, show 6,136 asylum cases were lodged by foreign students, more than a four-fold surge on the previous year.
Of those, 2,195 were sponsored by five universities and an education agency.
Study Group UK sponsored visas for 804 foreign students who later claimed asylum. The company's total was skewed towards two nationalities: 642 asylum claims from Bangladeshis and 156 from Pakistanis.
The statistics from a secret Home Office database, covering the 12 months to March 2023, show 6,136 asylum cases were lodged by foreign students, more than a four-fold surge on the previous year
The second-highest number of student visa-holders who claimed asylum in the year were sponsored by Portsmouth University (pictured), with 395
Third was De Montfort University (pictured) with 310 student visa-holders who claimed asylum in the year
Study Group's website describes it as a 'leading international education specialist and a trusted strategic partner to more than 50 universities around the world'.
The firm – along with individual universities – is licensed to sponsor foreign visa applicants by a Home Office agency, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI).
The second-highest number of student visa-holders who claimed asylum in the year were sponsored by Portsmouth University, with 395.
Its claims included 252 Bangladeshis, 54 from Afghans, 38 from Cameroonians and 28 from Pakistanis.
Third was De Montfort University with 310, followed by the University of Hertfordshire with 275, Coventry University with 217 and the University for the Creative Arts with 194.
Former home secretary Suella Braverman is among those who have previously criticised the higher education sector's role in bringing vast numbers of foreign students to Britain.
'Too many universities are selling immigration, not education,' she said in January.
In December Home Secretary James Cleverly announced a review of the 'graduate visa' which allows students who have completed their courses to work in Britain for up to two years.
Fourth was the University of Hertfordshire (pictured) with 275 student visa-holders who claimed asylum in the year
Fifth was Coventry University (pictured) with student visa-holders who claimed asylum in the year
In December Home Secretary James Cleverly (pictured on Wednesday) announced a review of the 'graduate visa' which allows students who have completed their courses to work in Britain for up to two years
An official review was only launched three months later and its results are awaited.
Latest Home Office data shows there were 457,673 sponsored study visas granted to main applicants last year. This is five per cent fewer than in 2022 but 70 per cent up on 2019 prior to the Covid pandemic.
However the graduate route allowed 114,409 foreign students to extend their stay in Britain by two years after completing a course, up 57 per cent year-on-year.
A University of Portsmouth spokesman said: 'This issue is a result of the Government's asylum policy, which allows visa switching in a way that is outside the direct control of the universities concerned and is not a failing of the higher education sector.
'The visa system and rules should not permit individuals approved to study with a study visa to legally switch to claim asylum.' He added the university has taken steps and worked with UKVI on the issue.
A Study Group spokesman said: 'As a UKVI licence-holder with a track record of compliance to sponsor international students, we take our duties extremely seriously.
'We immediately flag immigration concerns regarding any students who may seem non-genuine.'
A spokesman for the higher education body Universities UK International said: 'To recruit international students, universities must meet very high standards set by government.
'Adherence to these standards is continuously monitored by UKVI and compliance is exceptionally high.
'Our universities take visa compliance very seriously and, working with the Home Office and UKVI, take all possible steps to minimise the potential for abuse.'
Tom Brady and Jay2024-05-21 11:38
Pioneering observation satellite ERS2024-05-21 11:33
In China, a factory is turning old wedding photographs into fuel2024-05-21 11:25
Waitangi 2024: Thousands stand in unity to challenge government on Treaty principles2024-05-21 11:17
Hollywood star Shia LaBeouf is spotted on the streets of Gavin and Stacey's hometown Barry2024-05-21 10:48
Couple waits for categorisation of flood2024-05-21 10:44
Nelson urgently needs revitalisation as economic performance slumps2024-05-21 09:41
Person arrested after threat plunges Tauranga Hospital into five2024-05-21 09:30
Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Maryland ban on rifles known as assault weapons2024-05-21 09:06
Chemo services to remain in Wairoa permanently2024-05-21 09:05
‘The Blue Angels,’ filmed for IMAX, puts viewers in the ‘box’ with the elite flying squad2024-05-21 11:37
Millions of donkeys killed each year to make medicine2024-05-21 11:37
Doggy ballgowns, surveillance tech and cloning services for sale at China pet fair2024-05-21 11:15
Treaty referendum among issues raised with government at Waitangi2024-05-21 11:01
Not so Cool Britannia! Noel Gallagher gives damning verdict on Keir Starmer2024-05-21 10:45
Te Pāti Māori co2024-05-21 10:30
China gives monks a list of things they can’t do after the Dalai Lama's death — Radio Free Asia2024-05-21 10:11
Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan gets 102024-05-21 09:36
Children are evacuated from school 'during an exam' after threat made via email2024-05-21 09:18
Stranded livestock land in Australia after Red Sea turn2024-05-21 09:00