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Glasgow Caledonian University's UK visa licence to sponsor foreign students has now been restore
11 May 2011
Glasgow Caledonian University has UK visa licence restored
After a UK Border Agency (UKBA) inspection revealed that 150 Filipino students were also working nearly full-time, Glasgow Caledonian University had its UK visa licence to sponsor foreign students temporarily suspended. However, this licence has now been restored after the university fully addressed the UKBA's concerns.
The current UK immigration rules state that international students are only allowed to work for a maximum of 20 hours a week while studying in the UK. An investigation by the UKBA revealed that approx. 150 Filipino nursing students studying at Glasgow Caledonian University were working in excess of these permitted hours.
The foreign students involved were taking a BSc Nursing (Professional Development) course. The course involves a large proportion of work-based learning, and it had been alleged that the students were working full-time in care homes while studying for just one or two days a month, rather than the minimum of 15 hours study time a week.
As a resullt, the university's Tier 4 Student Visa licence suspended "following concerns about abuses of the immigration system".
However, the university says that their UK visa sponsorship licence has been restored after they fully addressed the concerns of the UKBA.
Speaking on the incident, Professor Pamela Gillies, the university's principal said: "This has been a challenging time for our university and we have worked swiftly and constructively with the UKBA.
"The agency has commended us for the way in which we responded to the situation and we are keen to work together with them to share this experience with the sector so that others may avoid this process."
The UK Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people with their UK immigration applications.
