New visa rules to block bogus students make language tests compulsory and jeopardise language schools' accreditation
Max de Lotbinière
"Let me be clear: you need to speak English to learn at our education establishments. If you can't, we won't give you a visa."
This was the stark warning issued by UK home secretary Theresa May in parliament last month as she unveiled tough new rules for student visas aimed at cutting the numbers of migrants using education as a back door into Britain.
May said the changes to the current Tier 4 student visa rules will target private education providers suspected of bending visa rules, reposition the UK as a destination for only the "best and brightest" scholars, and cut visa numbers by 80,000.
The rules, which come into effect from on 21 April, will require private education providers to gain Highly Trusted Sponsor (HTS) status before they can enrol adult students from outside the EU on long-term courses. To do that they must be vetted by one of five approved accrediting bodies.
Students must provide more secure proof that they have sufficient funds to support themselves before they are allowed to enter the country and they must be able to prove that their English meets minimum standards.
The measures have less direct impact on state-funded further education colleges and universities, which have won approval from ministers for their existing controls as well as tacit acknowledgement that revenue from foreign students cannot be jeopardised when other funding is being cut.
A major blow to private-sector colleges will be the withdrawal of their students' eligibility to work part-time while studying. Students at universities will continue to be able to work 20 hours a week, and those at state FE colleges for 10 hours, but those studying elsewhere will be barred from getting a job to ease living expenses.
For Britain's long-established English language schools sector, which is estimated to contribute $3bn to the UK economy, the rule changes will have immediate impact.
Nick Bray, managing director of the London Study Centre, said that it was unfair to discriminate against his students, many of whom were taking a year out of their university studies in their own countries to learn English in Britain. "While some will be able to study without having to work, the fact is that many of them want to work part-time, not just to earn some pocket money, but also to improve their English. Just because these students don't typically go on to university doesn't mean they aren't the 'best and brightest'," he said.
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