UK Visa and Immigration

The government’s proposed immigration cap is due to be revealed later today but already there is speculation about the number of visas that will be issued and the effects it will have on the British economy.

Tens of thousands of students and foreign workers must be refused visas every year if the government is to meet its promises on immigration.

Chairman of the Migration Advisory Committee, David Metcalf has said that work-related migration has halved since 2004 while those coming to study had grown substantially. Non-EU students must make up 60% of the cut, 20% skilled workers and the final 20% coming from family visas and their dependants.

Student migration flows from outside the EU are at historically high levels – more than 350,000 student visas were issued in the year to June 2010.

The most recent statistics show that the number of student visas issued in the second quarter of 2010 was up 23% compared with the second quarter of 2009.

The government plans to reduce net migration down from 196,000 to tens of thousands by 2015. The number of students coming to Britain from outside the EU is estimated to be cut to around 87,000.

Theresa May has already announced that she would crack down on non-EU students coming to privately-funded colleges and to study courses that were below degree level as she seeks to make eligibility criteria for visas more selective.

The weakened pound has made the UK an attractive destination for foreign students. Student accommodation can be found really cheap so student s are encouraged that they can live in the UK with less money than they would have needed previously.

British further and higher education institutions have been actively recruiting more non-EU students. Many universities depend on fee income from foreign students to subsidise facilities for UK students, but cutting the number of foreign students allowed to enter Britain may leave universities in financial crisis.

Student numbers increase net migration but this is only for the short term.  For example, last year’s rising student immigration to the UK will presumably be followed by rising emigration in two or three years time as students finish their courses and return home, or move elsewhere to work.  But Home Office research has shown that around 20% of students who entered the UK in 2004 were still here in 2009, suggesting that they might settle and contribute to rising net immigration and population.