The UK Border Agency is proposing a number of restrictions to the Tier 4 student visa system including:
- Restricting the number of institutions that can offer courses below degree level
- Raising the English language level requirement for non-native English speakers
- Closing the Tier 1 Post Study Work route
- Limiting the entitlement of students to work and sponsor dependants
The template response gives the view of NUS and the International Student Section Committee, informed by consultations with sector bodies and with students’ unions.
Not every union has the resource to coordinate a response to a government consultation from scratch, but the number of responses gives a strong message about how widely and deeply an issue is felt, so it is important that as many unions, or individual students or groups of students as possible respond to the consultation.
The template is intended to support students' unions in making their own response. Feel free to make use of the text and arguments presented, and add your own information where you can.
The deadline for response to UKBA is 31 January.