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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

541765

registered interest
date	21/07/2016
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what avenue of complaint members of the public have if they believe that government information, such as that provided in the document <i>Tier 4 sponsors whose status appeared as revoked from 2010 to 2014</i>, is not adequately clear, precise, or accessible.
tabling member printed	Lord Storey
uin	HL1442
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/07/2016 answer text <p>Information about UK Visas and Immigration’s complaint process, including both electronic and postal contact routes and guidance is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration/about/complaints-procedure.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 29/07/2016 12:02:17 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4238 label Biography information for Lord Storey

525670

registered interest
date	15/06/2016
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, how many foreign nationals who were granted student visas before the removal of the post-study work visa are still accredited as students in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Ross, Skye and Lochaber
tabling member printed	Ian Blackford
uin	40659
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2016 answer text <p>This information is not readily available. Providing the information requested would incur a disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 27/06/2016 11:40:35 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
tabling member	4390 label Biography information for Ian Blackford

522186

registered interest
date	26/05/2016
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, with reference to the Answer of 3 March 2016 to Question 28999, how many (a) credibility interviews were conducted and (b) students did not undergo such interviews in each year from 2009-10 to 2015-16.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	38689
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2016 answer text <p>The number of point of application credibility interviews of Tier 4 applicants conducted by UK Visas and Immigration during the time periods requested can be found in the table below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>Number of Tier 4 credibility interviews conducted*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-2014</p></td><td><p>112357</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-2015</p></td><td><p>123749</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-2016</p></td><td><p>60131</p></td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="10"><p>*This data is taken from unpublished local management information that is not subject to national statistics protocols and is therefore subject to change.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>All of these interviews were conducted via video conference by staff based in the UK. Additional interviews may be conducted overseas as part of the application process.</p><p>The difference in the number of interviews conducted can primarily be explained by a shift towards more in-depth interviewing of higher risk cases. This more selective approach to interviewing follows a number of reforms we have introduced to the student migration system to clamp down on abuse while continuing to attract the brightest and best to our world-class institutions. These reforms have had an impact both on the volume and genuineness of the student visa applications we now receive.</p><p>The Home Office does not hold the specific data requested in a format that would allow us to state how many students did not undergo such interviews. To obtain this information would involve reviewing individual case records, incurring disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 15/06/2016 13:19:20 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

515554

registered interest
date	25/04/2016
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Immigration Minister, James Brokenshire, on 14 March (HC29894), and in the light of the figures released by the Home Office on the number of non-EU students who had their visas curtailed in the three years to the end of December 2015 as part of their strategy to clamp down on immigration abuse, how many educational institutions were affected, and whether any of those educational institutions remain open to British and EU students.
tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
uin	HL7934
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/05/2016 answer text <p>It is not possible to run a report linking each curtailment decision to a specific educational institution. To provide the information requested would require a manual check of every curtailment in the cohort referenced which would incur a disproportionate cost.</p><p>The Immigration Rules allow for leave of an individual to be curtailed for a variety of reasons, not only as a result of an institution losing its sponsor licence but also, for example, is a student drops out of their course of study and is reported to the Home Office by the sponsor. Sponsors have a number of reporting duties in respect of their students, and these can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sponsor-a-tier-4-student-guidance-for-educators</p><p>The Home Office does not close down educational institutions. The revocation of a Tier 4 sponsor licence means that an educational institution can no longer recruit non-EEA students under the Points Based System. The institution may, however, continue to operate and teach UK and EEA students. The Home Office does not routinely monitor educational institutions who do not hold a sponsor licence.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon attachment 1 file name Tier_4_Sponsor_Guidance_-_Document_3_-_Tier_4_Compliance_2016-04.pdf title Tier 4 Compliance 2 file name Tier_4_Sponsor_Guidance_-_Document_2_-_Sponsorship_Duties_2016-04.pdf title Sponsorship Duties 3 file name Tier_4_Sponsor_Guidance_-_Document_1_-_Applying_for_a_Tier_4_licence_2016-04.pdf title Applying for a Tier 4 Licence question first answered 04/05/2016 14:01:33 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

458140

registered interest
date	07/03/2016
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 assessment she has made of the effect of visa arrangements for international students on the number of those students coming to study in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Bethnal Green and Bow
tabling member printed	Rushanara Ali
uin	29894
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/03/2016 answer text <p>The student migration system we inherited was too weak, and open to wide-spread abuse, damaging the UK’s reputation as a provider of world-class education. The National Audit Office reported that in 2009/10 up to 50,000 students may have come to work, not study.</p><p>We have clamped down on immigration abuse from poor quality institutions selling immigration rather than education, and since 2010 we have struck off more than 920 bogus colleges. Visa applications for the further education sector, where abuse has been most prevalent over recent years, are down 75 per cent compared with 2010.</p><p>At the same time, we have maintained a highly competitive offer for international students who would like to study at our world-class institutions. This is borne out by the figures: visa applications from international students to study at British universities are up by 16 per cent since 2010, whilst visa applications to our world-leading Russell Group institutions are up by 39 per cent since 2010.</p><p>We will continue to reform the student visa system to tackle abuse and deliver an effective immigration system that works in the national interest.</p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 14/03/2016 17:21:39 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
tabling member	4138 label Biography information for Rushanara Ali

456194

registered interest
date	29/02/2016
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 21 September 2015 to Question HL1937, on visas: overseas students, to provide the data by quarter from 2009-10 to quarter 1 2013; and how many Tier 4 applicants did not undergo credibility interviews in each such quarter.
tabling member constituency	Hampstead and Kilburn
tabling member printed	Tulip Siddiq
uin	28999
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2016 answer text <p>The Home Office does not hold this data in the format requested.</p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 03/03/2016 17:37:28 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
tabling member	4518 label Biography information for Tulip Siddiq

449454

registered interest
date	01/02/2016
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, how many former students have been arrested and detained for remaining in the UK beyond the term of their tier 4 student visa in each of the last two years.
tabling member constituency	Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
tabling member printed	Roger Mullin
uin	25192
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2016 answer text <p>In the time period 1 October 2013 to 30 September 2015, 2920 students are recorded on Home Office databases as having been arrested as Section 10 Overstayers. Of that number 2100 are flagged as having been detained.</p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 08/02/2016 16:26:41 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
tabling member	4468 label Biography information for Roger Mullin

449455

registered interest
date	01/02/2016
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, how many applications for the extension of a tier 4 student visa were declined in each of the last two years.
tabling member constituency	Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath
tabling member printed	Roger Mullin
uin	25032
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/02/2016 answer text <p>The requested information is given in the table below:</p><p>Decisions on applications for an extension of stay : Tier 4 &amp; pre-PBS equivalent (main applicants)</p><p>Year Grants Refusals</p><p>2013 104,668 11,544</p><p>2014 68,231 11,486</p><p>Source: Immigration Statistics July - September 2015, Home Office, table ex_01</p><p>Corresponding data for 2015 will be published on 25 February 2016.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/476907/extensions-q3-2015-tabs.ods" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/476907/extensions-q3-2015-tabs.ods</a></p><p>Information on refusals of extensions of stay for Tier 4 students is published in Extensions table ex_01 in the Home Office’s Immigration Statistics release.</p><p>The latest edition, is published in Extensions table ex_01 in the Home Office's Immigration Statistics: July to September 2015 is available from the Library of the House and on the GOV.UK statistics web pages at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release</a></p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Old Bexley and Sidcup answering member printed James Brokenshire question first answered 08/02/2016 16:40:46 answering member 1530 label Biography information for James Brokenshire
tabling member	4468 label Biography information for Roger Mullin

434128

registered interest
date	03/12/2015
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what criteria they use in auditing compliance with Tier 4 licences for non-EU students.
tabling member printed	Lord Storey
uin	HL4247
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2015 answer text <p>All Tier 4 licensed sponsors are assessed against criteria set out in the published Tier 4 Guidance for Sponsors. This includes the following four documents:</p><ul><li>Document one – Applying for a Tier 4 licence</li><li>Document two – Sponsorship Duties</li><li>Document three – Tier 4 Compliance</li><li>Appendix D - record keeping</li></ul><p>Some of the key criteria includes:</p><ul><li>Ensuring that each sponsor has a genuine and lawful trading presence.</li><li>Ensuring that each sponsor holds the appropriate education oversight with the relevant external inspection body.</li><li>Compliance visits; where checks are undertaken to establish whether an institution’s HR functions are appropriate.</li><li>An annual basic compliance assessment (BCA); where the sponsor must meet demonstrate that their visa refusal, enrolment and course completion rates fall within the outlined requisites<em>.</em></li></ul> answering member printed Lord Bates attachment 1 file name Tier 4 Guidance 11-2015 - Documents 1-3 combined.pdf title Tier 4 Guidance - 1-3 Combined 2 file name Appendix D.pdf title Appendix D question first answered 21/12/2015 16:55:19 answering member 1091 label Biography information for Lord Bates
tabling member	4238 label Biography information for Lord Storey