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<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>
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