UK Universities warn against cuts in UK student visas

United Kingdom, 8th March: Any plans by the UK immigration department to impose cuts on UK student visas might lead to closure of several UK universities, vice-chancellors of 16 UK universities have warned.

The vice-chancellors have asked Theresa May, the UK Home Secretary that such an act will have serious impact on the income of the universities in the UK.

The foreign students studying in the UK universities pay nearly eight times higher than the amount paid by the UK undergraduates and any reduction in the number of such students could lead to a big blow to the ability of the UK universities to afford educational courses in science and engineering.

In such a scenario, they will have no option but to face closure, the universities added.

As per the figures revealed by a report from the Universities UK published in the year 2009, the number of foreign students studying in the UK has gone up from 117,290 in the year 1998-99 to 229,640 in the year 2007-08 making an increase of around 96 percent.

The average tuition fees paid by foreign students hailing from outside the UK and the EU is said to be around £10,463.

Annual contribution by overseas students studying in the UK universities is around £5 billion to the economy of the country including the tuition fees as well as expenses incurred off-campus.

And any plans by the UK government to reduce the number of foreign students to be allowed into the nation will have a direct affect on the jobs and the income in the UK, the vice-chancellors of the UK universities asserted.

Apart from being a source of revenue for the UK economy, the foreign students also have numerous political and cultural advantages to the nation.

On successful completion of their studies in the UK universities, many foreign students often become economic and cultural ambassadors for Britain, the vice-chancellors added.

Hence, it’s of serious concern that the UK government should not go for reducing the number of international students to be allowed into the nation this year. Meanwhile, the UK government has reiterated that proposed changes likely to come into effect from April 2011 are aimed to stop abuse of the UK immigration system.