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| 31st
January 2010 / Times of India / Ahmedabad Edition |
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 UK suspends student visa applications from N India
New Delhi: Fearing abuse of the visa system, UK on Saturday announced a temporary suspension of student visas in north India. The dramatic step was necessitated, said UK Border Agency officials, after an unexpected spurt in student visa requests over the past couple of months leading to suspicion of fraudulent applications.
The move will affect visa applications in tier 4 of the UK points-based system and is bound to inconvenience genuine students even though professional agents said this was not the peak season for such travellers who are more likely to be seeking visas between July and October.
UKBA spokesperson Sam Murray said: “The suspension is in three centres where we witnessed an unusual rise in applications in North India. Between October and December 2009, we have received 13,500 applications, whereas in the same period in 2008 it was 1,800 and in 2007 it was just 1,000.”
The high volume is quite unusual for a low season and because of that an “operational decision” was taken, said Murray, who added that the suspension would not apply to centres in other parts of India. While the needle of suspicion points to agents, there is clearly a view that student visas were being sought to be abused by would-be migrants rather than students.
“The temporary suspension will allow the UK Border Agency to continue to scrutinise applications thoroughly and to manage the visa process efficiently for all our customers in north India,” UK deputy high commissioner Nigel Casey told reporters on Saturday afternoon.
Applications from February 1, officials said, will not be accepted. Neither will applicants be called for appointments or interviews if they had been given dates after February 1. Those submitting applications on or after February 1 will also have to wait until this suspension is revoked.
If a genuine student is really keen to travel, he or she may apply to visa centres in other parts of the country.
The huge increase in visa applications in October-December 2009 is from Delhi, Chandigarh and Jalandhar and set off alarm bells. “Some applicants are trying to abuse the visa procedure to get entry into UK for purpose other than studies. We cannot allow this to happen,” said Chris Dix, regional director, UK Border Agency, which is in charge of immigration and customs in the UK.
The suspension will be in place until the end of February, when a review will be made, Casey said. This time will be used to scrutinize the system for any loopholes being utilized by agents.
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