Starting on February 10 this year, foreign students who want to come to the UK to study will have to meet stricter entry criteria. They are designed to limit the ability of foreign student visa applicants to work in the UK and make it illegal for their dependants to work at all. The purpose of these rules is to make it harder for foreign nationals who apply for UK student visa only as a means to come to the UK to work.
Before these measures were introduces, all a UK student visa applicant needed to show was a letter from an approved educational institution that s/he is enrolled in a course of study and a proof of funds in the form of 5000 GPP in their bank account for 30 days. As the official letter is easily obtainable and so are the 5000 GBP that can easily borrowed and repaid while working in the UK, many people have abused the system through the years. Student visa used to be the easiest way to gain entry to the UK.
The new measures will make sure that all foreign nationals who want to apply for UK student visas have a good standard of English in order to enroll in an undergraduate study. They will also limit the time a student visa holder studying below first degree level or on a foundation degree course is able to work legally to 10 per week during the term. Also, student visa holders will not be able to bring their dependants to the UK if they are studying a course shorter than 6 months and dependants of UK student visa holders studying a lower than undergraduate level are not allowed to work at all.
Hopefully these measures will allow foreign students to benefit from the world known British educational system and not just use it as a means to working illegally in the UK. Once the course of study is completed, a foreign student can switch categories and apply for highly skilled worker visa, or find a sponsor and apply for skilled worker visa. If they have found a partner in the UK, they can also apply for a marriage visa, common law marriage visa or same sex partner visa.
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