Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill

 

The University of London Union (ULU) is the federal students’ union representing over 150,000 students in the twenty-three Colleges and institutes of the University of London. 

ULU is concerned about the effect on international students of aspects of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill.  ULU’s concern is centred on Clauses 1 and 4, which will remove rights to appeal against negative decisions.  ULU believes that these measures will cause a significant drop in the number of international students in the UK, resulting in both financial and cultural loss to British Higher Education. 

International Students 

International students make a major financial and cultural contribution to the British Higher Education sector, and to the UK generally: 

·        International students make up 11% of students in the UK, and over 30% of research students. 

·        London is a particularly popular destination for international students.  At the London School of Economics (a College of the University of London), over 62% of students are from overseas.

·        International students are a major source of funding for British universities, as they generally pay much higher fees than home students.  38% of funding for postgraduate study in the UK comes from international students’ fees.

·        The presence of students from outside the UK allows British students to experience and learn from a wide variety of cultures and outlooks. 

Visa Appeals (Clause 4) 

Clause 4 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill will remove the right of appeal from international students refused entry clearance.  ULU believes that this is unfair for several reasons: 

• 25% of clearance refusals for students are successfully overturned on appeal.  To remove the right to appeal would therefore deprive a large number of students of the opportunity to study in the UK.  Furthermore, this extremely high statistic suggests that decisions to refuse clearance cannot simply be assumed to be accurate and objective in every case.

• Research by Universities UK suggests that highly subjective reasons for refusing clearance are frequently given.  ULU considers that the right to appeal against a decision must be maintained if decision-makers are to be accountable.

• A student who is refused entry to the UK is likely to find that this impairs his/her applications for visas to study elsewhere.  This may well deter a student from applying to study in the UK if there is no right of appeal against refusal of entry clearance.  The UK is therefore likely to lose international students to competitors such as the USA and Australia.

 The Leave to Remain (Clause 1) 

Clause 1 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill reduces the rights of international students applying for “leave to remain” (i.e. a variation on the terms of a visa).  Under Clause 1, a student denied leave to remain will be required to leave the UK before he/she can appeal against it.  ULU has a number of concerns: 

• Students apply for leave to remain for many legitimate reasons - e.g. to complete a PhD, to take a viva exam, or to attend a graduation ceremony.

• 30% of international students apply for leave to remain while in the UK.  Over 75,000 applications for leave to remain are made by international students each year. 

• 51% of all applications for leave to remain are made by students.

• ULU considers it unrealistic to expect a student to leave the UK before appealing against a decision.  It is likely to cause considerable disruption to his/her studies and to make the appeal process unreasonably difficult.

• Under Clause 1, a student denied leave to remain will immediately be classified as an illegal overstayer.  ULU considers that this is likely to have an unfair effect on his/her career and any future visa applications.

 In summary, ULU believes that Clauses 1 and 4 of the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill will reduce considerably the number of international students in the UK. This is not only because fewer students will be granted the right to enter, but because the conditions will deter others from beginning the application process.   

ULU believes that such a reduction in the numbers of international students will be a significant financial and cultural loss to British Higher Education.  ULU will therefore urge support for amendments in the House of Lords seeking to remove or reform Clause 1 and Clause 4 of this Bill.

For further information, please e-mail [email protected] or call 020 7664 2056.