| Question | (Mr Keith Vaz) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what bogus colleges have been closed in each year since 2007.
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| Answer | Prior to April 2009, the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and previously the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) was responsible for the register of education establishments able to bring in students from outside the European Economic Area (EEA). At the point it was replaced by the Points Based System register of licensed Tier 4 sponsors, the register listed a total of 14,838 establishments, of which approximately 4,000 regularly took non-EEA students. As of 1st February 2011 the Tier 4 register lists 2,313 licensed Tier 4 sponsors.Since 31 March 2009 the following total numbers of educational establishments' licenses have been revoked:
Revocation of an educational establishment's sponsor licence does not prevent it from operating. The UK Border Agency is unable to close education or training providers, but it can remove their ability to recruit students from outside the European Economic Area.
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| Date of answer |
01.03.2011 |
| Question | (Mr Keith Vaz) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations she has received from foreign governments on the Government's proposals for student visas.
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| Answer | A consultation on the student immigration system closed on 31 January. Four submissions from overseas governments were received. In addition, the UK Border Agency officials have held meetings with a number of representatives from missions in the UK. Responses to the student consultation are being considered. The results of the consultation and an impact assessment, including details of those who have responded, will be published in due course.
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| Date of answer |
01.03.2011 |
| Question | (Mr David Amess) To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has of the number of Israeli students studying in universities in (a) England and (b) Wales; what subject each is studying; what steps (i) he is taking and (ii) plans to take in each of the next two years to promote UK universities in Israel; and if he will make a statement.
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| Answer | The latest available information from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) on the number of Israeli domiciled enrolments to English and Welsh Higher Education Institutions is shown in the table. Figures for the 2010/11 academic year will be available in January 2012.The Government are working through the British Council to promote the United Kingdom as a study destination for international students. With its network of offices across the world including in Israel, the British Council is well placed to help UK universities to recruit students and develop links with Israeli institutions. The Government have also supported the Britain Israel Research and Academic Exchange partnership scheme (BIRAX), managed by the British Council which enables researchers from Britain and Israel to work together on collaborative scientific projects.
Israeli domiciled enrolments¹ by subject of study English and Welsh higher education institutions academic year 2009/10
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| Date of answer |
28.02.2011 |
| Question | (Mr Keith Vaz) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many student visas were granted to citizens of each non-EU country in each of the last five years.
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| Answer | A table has been placed in the House of Commons Library showing the number of student visas issued to nationals of each non-EU country in each of the years 2005-10 (January to September).
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| Date of answer |
15.02.2011 |
| Question | (Mr Matthew Offord) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people entered the UK on student and student family member visas in (a) 2000 to 2009 and (b) 1990 to 1999.
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| Answer | The available statistics on the number of persons given leave to enter the United Kingdom as students, excluding EEA and Swiss nationals, 1990 to 2009, are given in the following table.It must be noted that there are discontinuities in the time series of this data due to student dependant figures not being available prior to 2004 and the introduction of the student visitor category in 2007.Statistics on passengers given leave to enter the United Kingdom by purpose of journey are published annually in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin, "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom". These publications are available from the Library of the House and from the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics website at:"www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration-asylum-stats.html"
Passengers¹, ² given leave to enter the United Kingdom for the purpose of study excluding EEA and Swiss nationals, 1990-2009
n/a = Not available
¹ Nationals of EU accession countries are included or excluded according to their accession date
² Figures rounded to three significant figures. Figures may not sum to the totals shown because of independent rounding
³ Includes Tier 4 dependants in 2009.
4 The student visitor category provides for those persons who wish to come to the UK as a visitor and undertake a short period of study which will be completed within the period of their leave (maximum six months).
5 Not applicable.
6 Provisional figures.
Source:
Home Office, Migration Statistics
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| Date of answer |
15.02.2011 |
| Question | (Mr Matthew Offord) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effects of the new student visitor visa scheme on the capacity of language schools to provide relevant courses.
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| Answer | The new student visitor visa scheme, enabling non-EEA students to study English language for up to 11 months, was introduced on 10 January. No formal assessment has been completed. However, we will closely monitor this route and keep it under constant review.
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| Date of answer |
15.02.2011 |
| Question | (Mr Matthew Offord) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department plans to take to reduce the number of those entering the country on a student visa who settle in the UK permanently.
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| Answer | The Government's consultation on proposals to reform the student immigration system closed on 31 January. One of the proposals in the consultation sought views on how to ensure students return overseas on completion of their courses, rather than remain in the UK for extended periods, eventually becoming eligible to apply for settlement. We are currently considering the responses we received to the consultation and will publish the findings in due course.
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| Date of answer |
15.02.2011 |
| Question | (Mr Conor Burns) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many students from outside the EU were granted visas to study at a higher education institution (a) awarded and (b) not awarded highly trusted status by the UK Border Agency in the most recent year for which figures are available.
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| Answer | Information about visas issued for study at all institutions of higher education is not held centrally and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost. However, the estimated total number of student visas issued in the 12 months in 2009 to non-EEA nationals for study at universities, of which all but three hold Highly Trusted Status, was 133,000."Notes:""1. The figures include visas issued under both (a) Tier 4 of the Points Based System and (b) the former provision in the Immigration Rules for students, where the application was lodged before 31 March 2009.""2. This information is based on a sample of Management Information. It is provisional and subject to change.""3. The data excludes dependents, sponsored students and child students."
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| Date of answer |
15.02.2011 |
| Question | (Mr William Bain) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effects of her proposed restrictions on the number of student visas on levels of income of universities with courses attracting overseas students in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the next four years.
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| Answer | A consultation on the student immigration system closed on 31 January 2011. The consultation sought the views of all respondents on the effect of the proposals. The results of the consultation and an impact assessment will be published in due course.
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| Date of answer |
10.02.2011 |
| Question | (Mr Keith Vaz) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many student visas were granted to citizens of Bangladesh in each of the last five years.
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| Answer | The number of student visas issued to nationals of Bangladesh in each year since 2005 is shown in the following table. Those issued after 31 March 2009 were issued under tier 4 of the points based system.
Student visas issued to Nationals of Bangladesh
These data are unpublished and are based on management information. They are provisional and subject to change.The steep rise in visas issued in 2009 is evidence of serious abuse of the student entry route following the introduction of tier 4. The Government are determined to stop this abuse and is therefore currently conducting a major review of student visas.
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| Date of answer |
02.02.2011 |
| Question | (Mr William Bain) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has conducted of the effect on the economy in (a) Glasgow, (b) Scotland and (c) the UK of the UK Border Agency's proposed restrictions on the conditions applicable to grants of student visas.
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| Answer | The consultation on the student immigration system closes on 31 January. The consultation is seeking the views of all respondents on the effect of the proposals. The results of the consultation will be announced in due course.
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| Date of answer |
31.01.2011 |
| Question | (Fiona O'Donnell) To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the effect on universities in Scotland of changes to student visas.
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| Answer | The Secretary of State for Scotland and I [David Mundell] are in regular discussion with ministerial colleagues in the Home Office, including on how changes to the immigration system impact on Scotland.
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| Date of answer |
27.01.2011 |
| Question | (Fiona O'Donnell) To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish each communication he has received on the Home Office consultation by the Home Office on changes to student visas.
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| Answer | The Government's consultation on student immigration is currently under way and closes on 31 January. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not standard practice to publish communications between Ministers on the development of Government policy.
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| Date of answer |
27.01.2011 |
| Question | (Mr Matthew Offord) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her review of student visas will examine the ability of students to bring their dependents with them to the UK.
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| Answer | On 7 December the Government launched a public consultation on reform of the student immigration system; copies are available in the House Library. Section 7 of the consultation considers limiting the entitlements of students to bring their family members with them to the UK.
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| Date of answer |
24.01.2011 |
| Question | (Nicholas Soames) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many appeals against refusal of entry clearance were lodged by those who had applied for student visas in each year since 2000; and how many of those appeals were upheld in each year.
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| Answer | The number of appeals against the refusal of student visas that were (a) lodged and (b) allowed, in each calendar year since 2004, is shown in the following table. This information is not available for previous years.
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| Date of answer |
20.01.2011 |
| Question | (Mr Keith Vaz) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many student visa applications from each country were (a) accepted and (b) rejected for study for (i) English language courses, (ii) foundation courses, (iii) undergraduate degrees, (iv) postgraduate taught degrees and (v) postgraduate research degrees in each of the last three years.
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| Answer | A table has been placed in the Library showing the number of student visas that were (a) issued and (b) refused for each nationality in each of the last three years. The UK Border Agency is unable to break the figures down into type of course or level of study from central records. This information could be produced only by checking individual records which would incur disproportionate cost.
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| Date of answer |
14.12.2010 |
| Question | (Mr Gordon Marsden) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will take into account the conclusions of the British Council's report on Global value training - the value of UK education and training exports: an update, when considering changes to the rules governing student visas.
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| Answer | [holding answer 13 December 2010]: This report focused on the value to the UK economy of UK education and training, but does not relate directly to the value of international students entering through Tier 4 of the points-based system. For example, it includes income generated for UK institutions by campuses overseas, and off-campus expenditure of business visitors to the UK who happen to be staying in university accommodation.
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| Date of answer |
14.12.2010 |
| Question | (Angie Bray) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has for the future of the student visa system.
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| Answer | On 7 December the Government launched a public consultation on reform of the student immigration system. A copy has been placed in the House Library.
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| Date of answer |
14.12.2010 |
| Question | (Mr David Blunkett) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many student visas for postgraduate study in England and Wales in the 2009-10 academic year were granted for citizens of Pakistan.
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| Answer | Information about student visas issued specifically for postgraduate study in the UK is not held centrally by the UK Border Agency and could be obtained only by inspecting individual records at a disproportionate cost. This applies to all student visa applicants regardless of their nationality.
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| Date of answer |
13.09.2010 |
| Question | (Mr David Lammy) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for student visas were refused in the academic year (a) 2009-10, (b) 2008-09 and (c) 2007-08.
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| Answer | The number of applications for student visas that were refused in the financial years 2009-10, 2008-09 and 2007-08 are given in the following table. I have given data for the financial years as most student visa applicants apply in the summer months, before the start of the academic year.
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| Date of answer |
30.06.2010 |
| Question | (Joan Ruddock) To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for student visas were (a) granted and (b) refused in 2009; and how many such applications from each country of origin have been (i) granted and (ii) refused in 2010 to date.
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| Answer | The total number of student visas¹ issued and refused in 2009 was 303,635 and 104,536, respectively. The number of student visas issued and refused in the first Quarter of 2010 by nationality of the applicant is shown in the following table:¹ Excludes student visitors
Total 66,200 40,787 26,677
The data in this table is based on Management Information and as such has not been quality assured. It is provisional and subject to change
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| Date of answer |
23.06.2010 |
| Question | To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many student visas have been issued to (a) EU and (b) non-EU students in academic year 2009-10.
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| Answer | Under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006, EEA nationals and their family members have the right of free movement within the territory of EEA member states. They may therefore come to the UK to seek work, take up employment or study without applying for Leave to Enter. No student visas are therefore issued to EEA nationals. The total number of student visas issued to non-EEA nationals in the Financial Year 2009-10 was 288,010. This figure is based on the Control of Immigration: Quarterly Statistical Summaries which have been published on the UK Border Agency's website, www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk Most non-EEA nationals who were issued with visas in 2009 in order to study in the UK in the current academic year would have been issued with visas during the summer months, and would therefore be included in the total for the financial year given above.
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| Date of answer |
17.06.2010 |
