Why use VisaGuard services? The UK Border Agency is tightening up on overseas students coming to schools, colleges and universities in the UK. In recent months some 200 colleges have had their licenses suspended or downgraded. The most common reasons given for suspensions are students’ failure to enrol, attend or complete their courses.

If students are granted visas on the basis of a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) issued by a college or university and have entered the UK but are not following their course of study, there is no control over their whereabouts or what they are doing. The UKBA see this as a threat to immigration control which may lead to education providers having their UKBA licences suspended or revoked and being unable to recruit international students.

Your responsibilities as a sponsor

Prior to the introduction of the Points Based System (PBS) the UK Border Agency would interview prospective students in some depth when applying for a visa or on arrival in the UK about their ability to follow the course and their intentions in coming to the UK to study. 

With the introduction of the PBS, this responsibility, along with a number of others, was shifted to education providers. The first paragraph on the section of the UKBA’s sponsor guidance  covering duties specific to sponsors under Tier 4 reads:

“A confirmation of acceptance for studies may only be assigned under Tier 4 if the sponsor is satisfied that the student both intends and is able to follow the course of study concerned.”

Responsibility for assessing intent

The UKBA regard it as crucial that education providers make a thorough assessment of prospective students from overseas to avoid unwittingly sponsoring people posing as students whose real intention is to work illegally or otherwise abuse the immigration laws.

The UK coalition government’s policy of putting a cap on non-EEA employees also increases the risk of people posing as students to secure entry when other routes are closed to them and UKBA is increasingly asking education providers for evidence of how they are assessing intent when deciding whether to accept students onto their courses. Action plans for previously suspended colleges returned to the Register with a B rating also frequently refer to the need to keep transcripts of student interviews on file.

The fact that prospective students can speak English and/or have the appropriate qualifications may show that they are capable of following the course but do not necessarily mean that they intend to do so. And it is against measures of the number of students enrolling and completing the course that education providers are being assessed.

It is obviously impossible to eliminate all risk that a student will not follow or complete the course. What the UKBA is looking for is evidence that education providers have followed the UKBA’s good practice guidance and been diligent in their recruitment methods. Such evidence may also be used to provide a stronger defence against any action the UKBA may take to downgrade or remove a sponsor licence.

Good practice

The areas of good practice the UKBA refers to include knowledge of the market from which students are being recruited; ongoing liaison with UKBA internationally; and the use of agents. The UKBA also recommends making enquiries into a prospective student’s background and circumstances as a means of assessing the credibility of the student’s intentions in studying in the UK. This is often the most complex area for an education provider and one which with the benefit of our experience we can provide for you.

Click here to find out how we can help you meet the UKBA’s requirements for assessing intent and fulfilling your responsibilities as a sponsor.