Government announcment on new UK visa system for students
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
The Government today announced how the new UK visa system for students will operate from spring 2009.
English UK has today sent out to all its 376 members a 10-page note of interpretation and guidance on the new visa system and on applying to be on the Register of Sponsors.
Tony Millns, English UK’s chief executive, said: “Only language centres accredited by an approved accrediting body such as Accreditation UK can apply to be on the Register of Sponsors. And only organisations on the Register can issue a ‘confirmation of acceptance for studies’, a unique reference number which students must have to apply for a full student visa. So non-accredited centres will no longer be able to enrol student who need visas next year. This is good news for the accredited English language sector, which brings more than 350,000 students to the UK each year to learn English, generating around £1.5 billion in foreign earnings for the country. The low-quality and sometimes frankly bogus non-accredited colleges damage the reputation of the UK for providing a quality education, and that reputation is our key selling point abroad. There are many details of the system to be sorted out before it comes into operation, but we are pleased to have been closely involved by the Home Office in the design of the system and we will continue to work with the Home Office and the UK Border Agency on how it will be implemented over the next seven to eight months.”
