We reported earlier this month that in a move that is unwelcome to the education sector, the new Immigration Minster has indicated that the visa refusal rates for HTS applications may be reduced from 20% to 10% .
Unfortunately the new Minister seems to be unconcerned by the impact further restrictions may have on the UK’s education sector and subtly announced on 13 March that:
‘I am adding Oman, Qatar and United Arab Emirates to the list of countries whose nationals benefit from different documentary requirements and ending the exemption from the genuineness test that applies to nationals on this list when applying for a Tier 4 visa’.
This means that any Tier 4 applicant, regardless of nationality, may be called for an interview to test their reasons for choosing to study in the UK. If the immigration official concludes that they may not be a genuine student, then their application will be refused and this, in turn, may place the HTS sponsor’s licence at risk.
Unfortunately, as we previously reported, we have seen numerous refusal notices where the decision was unreasonable and this measure has already been proven to be unfair to small sponsors.
If your organisation holds a Tier 4 sponsor licence and you need advice, please contact us.
