Probably in the coming days applying for a UK student visa and obtaining one would become harder for international students. Since the British government has recently closed a consultation that had been carried out concerning stricter student immigration rules, the only thing we can expect is to have some not-so-pleasant surprises for non-European Union student intending to study in the United Kingdom.

On January 31, 2011, the UK government concluded the consultation, which apparently had run for eight weeks. The government received many thousands of responses. The consultation reached some conclusions towards its end. Let us have a rough idea of the same.

A few measures have been proposed during the consultation which could help the country to restrict the international student immigration. Below are some of them:

• The number of students coming to the UK to pursue Below Degree level courses must be reduced.
• Tougher language (English) requirements must be introduced for international students.
• International students must be required to prove their academic advancement in case they want to extend their UK visa.
• International students’ right to work while studying in the UK must be delimited.
• International students’ rights or circumstances under which they can bring family members to the United Kingdom must also be reduced.
• There should be a tougher accreditation process concerning the UK educational providers. Moreover, these institutions must face stricter inspections.

The British government is yet to make the final announcement concerning the results of the consultation. However, the country’s immigration minister has said that whatever stricter regulations the country would take up would be done for the advantage of the authentic and legitimate international students. He also made it clear that the regulations would not hamper those students coming to the UK to pursue degree level courses. Once the UK Border Agency announces the results we will know whether all the measures proposed during the consultation would be applicable for degree level students or not. The results of the consultation are expected very soon.

For more immigration related updates, keep visiting Abhinav Blog! If you are looking for assistance to immigrate, you can send your resume to ajay@abhinav.com for free-of-charge assessment for immigration.

Green said the Government would “do nothing to prevent those coming here to study degree level courses”, although its unclear whether some or all of the proposed measures — such as family re-unification and work rights — would apply to those studying degree level courses.

The UK Border Agency said the results of the consultation would be announced in the coming weeks.