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623442

registered interest
date	28/10/2016
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Overseas Students
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2016 to Question 49108, what assessment she has made of the proportion of visa refusals that relate to university admissions; and how many visa applications have related to such admissions in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	50908
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2016 answer text <p>Data regarding the number and proportion of visa refusals under Tier 4 of the Points Based System over the last five years can be found within the data tables produced for the immigration statistics, last published in August 2016 including data up to and including June 2016:</p><p>All data tables:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-april-to-june-2016-data-tables</p><p>Visa applications table:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/546766/entry-visas1-q2-2016-tabs.ods</p><p>The data tables do not split the data according to the sponsoring institution type. Whilst this data is recorded in relation to each institution it is not held centrally in such a way as to be available without incurring disproportionate costs.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 03/11/2016 17:50:38 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

620978

registered interest
date	25/10/2016
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Overseas Students
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent representations she has received on the number of student visas issued to international students studying on UK higher education courses who lack proficiency in English.
tabling member constituency	Ilford North
tabling member printed	Wes Streeting
uin	50079
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2016 answer text <p>Students who wish to study a higher education course in the UK need to reach a minimum standard of proficiency in English, currently set at Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) Level B2 in each of the four components (speaking, listening, reading and writing), with some exemptions as set out in paragraphs 127-129 at the following link:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/540421/T4_Migrant_Guidance_July_2016.pdf</p><p>We will shortly be consulting on proposed changes to the non-EU work and study migration routes to see what more we can do to strengthen the system to support the best institutions – and those that stick to the rules – to attract the best talent.</p><p>Interested parties, including businesses and members of the education sector, will have the opportunity to engage with this consultation to help us get these reforms right.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 31/10/2016 17:36:08 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
tabling member	4504 label Biography information for Wes Streeting

619054

registered interest
date	24/10/2016
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Overseas Students
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of student visas that have been obtained fraudulently in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Ilford North
tabling member printed	Wes Streeting
uin	49819
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2016 answer text <p>The Home Office does not hold the specific information in the format requested. To obtain it would involve interrogating individual case records, at disproportionate cost.</p><p>All out of country entry clearance applications are subject to an extensive range of mandatory and discretionary checks. These include, but are not limited to, identity, travel document verification, searches against national and international police records, and against previous immigration history.</p><p>All applicants applying for student visas are required to meet the Immigration Rules. In the event that any fraudulent activity has been used to apply for a visa, the applicant may be refused under the Immigration Rules.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 31/10/2016 17:18:10 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
tabling member	4504 label Biography information for Wes Streeting

604880

registered interest
date	18/10/2016
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Overseas Students
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2016 to Question 48003, if she will publish the visa refusal rates for (a) Cambridge University, (b) Oxford University, (c) Bath University, (d) Imperial College London, (e) Edinburgh University, (f) Glasgow University, (g) University of St Andrews and (h) Aberdeen University in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull North
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	49108
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2016 answer text <p>Visa refusal rate data is produced for internal use only and is not intended for publication. The data requested provides sensitive information about sponsors’ compliance with their immigration requirements and by extension how likely they are to retain their sponsor licence.</p><p>As this information could potentially impact their reputation and ability to attract international students, and therefore their commercial viability, we are unable to provide the information requested on the basis of commercial confidentiality.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 26/10/2016 16:50:52 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill previous answer version 15767 answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

599552

registered interest
date	11/10/2016
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Overseas Students
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the criteria for inclusion in the limited post-study work visa pilot were; and if she will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	48003
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2016 answer text <p>The Tier 4 visa pilot has been introduced to test the benefits of a differentiated approach within the education sector on the basis of compliance with immigration sponsorship requirements.</p><p>The four universities chosen to participate in the Tier 4 visa pilot, namely the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Bath and Imperial College London, were chosen on the basis of their consistently low visa refusal rates.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 17/10/2016 19:19:06 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill previous answer version 14607 answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

595875

registered interest
date	07/10/2016
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Overseas Students
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date her Department began to record details of sponsorship of non-EU nationals entering the UK on student visas.
tabling member constituency	Esher and Walton
tabling member printed	Mr Dominic Raab
uin	46946
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2016 answer text <p>The sponsorship of non-EU students was introduced in three stages:</p><p>Educational Institutions were able to make an application for a licence to sponsor non-EU students under Tier 4 of the Points Based System from July 2008.</p><p>Non–EU student applications under Tier 4 of the Points-Based System were introduced on 31 March 2009, and from this date onwards institutions had students linked to their sponsor licence.</p><p>From 22 February 2010 all non-EU Tier 4 student applications had to be supported by a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, an electronic document assigned by a Tier 4 sponsor, which institutions are required to monitor and report against, and this activity was recorded by the Home Office.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill question first answered 12/10/2016 11:24:12 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
tabling member	4007 label Biography information for Dominic Raab

573748

registered interest
date	02/09/2016
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Visas: Overseas Students
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of using institutional visa refusal rates as a indicator of institutional compliance with Tier 4 visa regulations.
tabling member constituency	Sheffield Central
tabling member printed	Paul Blomfield
uin	44549
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2016 answer text <p>The Home Office launched a Tier 4 visa pilot involving the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Bath and Imperial College London on 25 July. The pilot has been introduced to test the benefits of a differentiated approach within the education sector on the basis of compliance with immigration sponsorship requirements.</p><p>The pilot is deliberately narrow in scope, with the institutions selected on the basis of their consistently low level of visa refusals. Visa refusal rates are part of the Basic Compliance Assessment, which requires all Tier 4 sponsors to meet three core requirements based on measures of visa refusals, enrolment and completion of studies.</p><p>The limited nature of the pilot is intended to ensure that the outcomes can be adequately monitored, whilst minimising the risk of unintended consequences, before considering rolling-out the scheme more widely.</p><p>The four selected institutions were consulted regarding its implementation. Should the pilot be successful and rolled out more widely, the Home Office will consult key stakeholders about its expansion.</p> answering member constituency Scarborough and Whitby answering member printed Mr Robert Goodwill grouped question UIN 44187 question first answered 12/09/2016 15:45:18 answering member 1562 label Biography information for Sir Robert Goodwill
tabling member	4058 label Biography information for Paul Blomfield