News

FOREIGN STUDENTS NOT TO BE DEPORTED

INTERNATIONAL GRADUATES ALLOWED TO OVERSTAY THEIR VISAS

Immigration officers have been told not to deport foreign students whose visas have expired unless they have broken other laws, a leaked government memo suggests. The memo was obtained by the Daily Mail and was written after the agency’s head intervened to stop a student’s removal last month.
It has been suggested that the government has priorities for removing people living in Britain illegally and are currently concentrating on removing foreign national prisoners, followed by failed asylum seekers. This is due to the government’s concern for public safety in a time of increased threat of terror attacks.

The inability to remove all people without visas or with expired visas has been blamed on a lack of funding and man power. The Home Office estimates there are some 600,000 people in the country illegally; and they have less than 1,500 immigration officers, thus it does seem like an impossible task.

Students are the largest group of people gaining visas with 309,000 arriving in 2006; however a law change from 1st September 2007 has led to a rise in the number of people refused renewal on their visas after it has expired, this in turn has led to some enforced removals although many students still successfully stay in the UK after their visas have run out.

There seems to be confusion over how strict the Home Office should be as the case of a Chinese student in Manchester was referred to. The student had to resubmit her visa application due to an initial problem with payment but then missed the deadline with her second application and it was refused and enforcement action was taken.

Evidently the government needs to have priorities where immigration and visas are concerned as some cases are more serious than others. However, living in the UK without a visa is illegal and therefore many feel that the matter should not be treated lightly regardless of whom it involves.

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