30.08.12
Visa licence revoked for London Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University has had its visa licence revoked, leaving over 2,000 students potentially facing deportation.
The ban was implemented after the UK Border Agency said the university had “failed to address serious and systemic failings” identified six months ago.
The university is now banned from teaching overseas students from outside the EU and will no longer be able to authorise visas. Students now have 60 days to find another sponsor or face deportation.
The UKBA found that over a quarter of students sampled were studying when they had no leave to remain in the country, a “significant proportion” had no proper evidence that the mandatory English levels had been reached and the university did not know if students were turning up for classes or using the student visa as a chance to get work in the UK.
NUS president Liam Burns said: “This decision will create panic and potential heartbreak for students not just at London Met but also all around the country.
“This heavy-handed decision makes no sense for students, no sense for institutions and no sense for the country. This situation and the botched process by which the decision was arrived at could be avoided if international students were not included in statistics of permanent migrants.”
Universities Minister David Willetts said: “It is important that genuine students who are affected through no fault of their own are offered prompt advice and help, including, if necessary, with finding other institutions at which to finish their studies.”
A statement posted on the university’s website on Wednesday read: “The implications of the revocation are hugely significant and far-reaching, and the university has already started to deal with these.
“It will be working very closely with the UKBA, Higher Education Funding Council for England, the NUS and its own students’ union. Our absolute priority is to our students, both current and prospective, and the university will meet all its obligations to them.”
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