Current location:Global Gazette news portal > style
A third of foreign students seeking to stay in the UK are at just SIX institutions, figures show
Global Gazette news portal2024-05-21 08:40:02【style】7People have gathered around
IntroductionMore 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'.
EXCLUSIVEREAD MORE: Tens of thousands of foreign nationals are 'exploiting a hidden asylum loophole' to stay in the UK permanently, documents reveal
AdvertisementThe 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.
READ MORE: Immigration chiefs warn universities after THOUSANDS of foreign students claim asylum within months of arriving in Britain
AdvertisementA 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.'
Address of this article:http://haiti.unhasdecoradas.org/html-83e299626.html
Very good!(8178)
Related articles
- Election 2024: Biden and Trump bypassed the Commission on Presidential Debates
- Surging popularity of Chinese books at Bangkok Int'l Book Fair
- Children's books boost Sino
- Shanghai released 2024 events guide
- Six killed in a 'foiled coup' in Congo, the army says
- Tourism booms in three
- Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 33,482: Ministry
- Israel prepares attack on Rafah as truce talks resume in Egypt
- Target to lower prices on basic goods in response to inflation
- Shanghai released 2024 events guide
Popular articles
Recommended
Tom Brady and Jay
UK's Princess of Wales says she is under cancer treatment
Egypt to increase number of aid trucks to war
Lang Lang becomes 1st Chinese musician to receive Hollywood Walk of Fame star
Kate Hudson hits the stage to debut songs from her new album Glorious at star
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's 3 sons killed in Israeli raid
Improved ecological environment attracts common cranes to Karamay, NW China's Xinjiang
Over 1.1M people in Gaza facing food insecurity: UN
Links
- Core blimey: Slow
- My toddler saved my life after I had an epileptic seizure and fell in the bath
- The Iron Claw review: The Big Daddy of wrestling movies
- Florida lawmakers pass bill to ban social media for children under 16
- JULIE BURCHILL: Why I spread rumours about Kate
- I endured aggressive chemo and said goodbye to my family after being given just 15 months to live
- 'He's almost like a LEAGUE TWO player': Roy Keane slams Erling Haaland for his display in City's 0
- The Iron Claw review: The Big Daddy of wrestling movies
- Life's little luxuries: Facial massage tools
- Jennifer Lopez bares her washboard abs in a tiny grey crop top and low