Highly Trusted Private College students do not have the same right to work as students of Government Sponsored Institutions
The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has recently published proposed criteria to become a Highly Trusted Sponsor under Tier 4, which may be the final ‘nail in the coffin’ for some private colleges. Many private colleges are giving up simply shutting their doors and telling their students to “find another college”.
Tier 4 students are also utterly confused by further set of rule changes. In the last few weeks there has been an increasing number of calls and emails from panic stricken students reporting that their college had ‘closed down’, usually following their suspension from the Tier 4 Sponsors Register or perhaps following changes to the Tier 4 Immigration Rules on 4 July 2011.
Furthermore, students assume that if they are registered with a ‘Highly Trusted’ institution, they will be treated equally. NOT TRUE. A private college is a private college no matter how ‘highly’ trusted they are, and students applying to those colleges will not be allowed to work or sponsor their dependants.
It may be recalled that goalposts were moved on 4 July so that students applying for visas or extension after this date are:
· only allowed to work if they are sponsored by government universities or higher education institutions (HEIs) and publicly funded further education colleges to work part-time during term time and full-time during vacations;
· only allowed to sponsor dependants if they are studying at or sponsored by HEIs on postgraduate courses lasting 12 months or longer, and of government-sponsored students on courses lasting longer than 6 months;
· only able to obtain a CAS if the institution has confirmed that their course represent genuine academic progression from any previous courses studied by the student in the UK – see also the 3 year rule and reference requirements which are preventing many students from renewing their visas.
Large numbers of students have also jumped from one private college to another without being able to prove that they have ever finished a course or made satisfactory progress. Progress reports and references have always been a vital requirement and colleges who do not take these up will find themselves in trouble.
These changes do not affect EU migrants such as Bulgarian and Romanian students coming to the UK to study and work on a Yellow Card. They need to find a college on the ‘pre-tier 4′ DIUS register and can still work full time when taking a vocational work based course, such as an NVQ or QCF in health and social care.
Student visas can be cancelled if a student changes college without permission
As thousands of international students move from college to college, care needs to be taken to ensure you stay on the right side of the law. One wrong move and you could find your visa being cancelled by the UK Border Agency.
An Immigration Adviser, who has dealt with number of students whose Tier 4 and pre-Tier 4 visas were suddenly curtailed by the U.K. border agency within weeks of their former college reporting their premature departure, declared:
“We have seen students’ visas cancelled shortly after they stop attending the college which granted them permission.”
Some of these students had left their college without completing their course and without applying for new permission. In many cases they also owed substantial sums in unpaid fees.
Their new providers seemed quite happy to enrol them without bothering to take up a reference from the previous college or offering any advice to the student. This can have serious repercussions for the student later on down the road when it comes to renewing their visas without an ‘established presence’ in the UK.
If a student has changed college, does he/she have the new permission from UKBA? Also, has the new college checked their reference and attendance record from the previous college? These factors can affect students’ leave to remain.
Students were advised to check their visa and student status as holding a visa does not guarantee them stay in the UK.
There are many types of student visas - so beware when changing college
Students, employers and even the occasional UK Border Agency officer are confused by the raft of immigration rule changes over the last few years.
A major concern is what students should do to stay on the right side of the law when moving college or changing course. The answer to these questions largely depends on when you arrived in the UK and what type of visa you hold.
If you are here on a student visa prior to March 2009, when Tier 4 started, you retain the terms and conditions of your stay in the UK associated with the old rules, until your current permission to stay expires. Under the old rules changing your educational provider is a relatively straightforward matter of informing the UK Border Agency and does not involve reapplying for your visa. But if you extend your stay in the UK as a student, you will need to apply to UKBA under Tier 4 of the points-based system.
If you are a Tier 4 student and arrived before October 2009 you need permission to change sponsor, but not a change of visa. However, if you applied for your visa after 5 October 2009 your visa is tied to your provider and you must make a new application for permission to stay before you start your course with a new sponsor.
Switching courses with the same provider does not require a new permission from the UK Border Agency as long as you have sufficient existing leave on your visa. The provider should inform the UK Border Agency that you have changed course.
Employers need to be aware that students who obtained their visas after 5 October 2009 and later changed sponsor without obtaining a new visa are no longer legally in the UK, which means they could be hit with a £5000 for employing them. In addition, some students arriving after March 2010 may have permission to work just 10 hours a week. To clarify, that’s 10 hours per week, not 10 hours a day!
Finally, if you are in the UK on either of the above student visas, you must be engaged in full time study. Your student visa is not valid if you are not studying and following the rules.
