Thousands of foreign students come to United Kingdom in order to explore better learning opportunities. Apart from the fact that Britain has some of the best universities and colleges in the world, another plus point that attracts students more than ever before is the opportunity for foreign students to stay an extra year in the country.

At present, foreign students are allowed to remain in UK for a period of twelve month following their graduation, in order to work. An addition to this an extra year has stay has been proposed. It is expected that the immigration minister would announce this change, by the days end. In the past five years, more than 1.6million student visas have been processed. Along with this, more than 30,000 students have arrived in the UK in the year 2006 only. And with the current changes in the immigration laws, the numbers are expected to rise.

According to a report by www.globalvisas.com, an immigration and visa authority, there are many who criticize the changes calling it a clear way of giving official pardon to those who stay over the assigned period.

The government oppositions believe that the immigration department often ignores cases of deportation involving foreign prisoners and failed asylum seekers and also students who stay even after the expiry of their visa

It is expected that false colleges that are utilized for the purpose of illegal immigration will also be targeted next year. It will be mandatory for all students to have a certificate of sponsorship from the college or university in which they are enrolled. All the educational institutions that want to sponsor a foreign student will have to apply for a license in order to do so, under the ‘tier 4 student visa’ that will be implemented in spring 2009.