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<p>I meet my Rt hon Friend the Home Secretary regularly and we discuss a wide range
of issues.</p><p>The Tier 4 visa pilot is part of the Home Office’s continued efforts
to ensure that the UK maintains an excellent offer to attract the brightest and best
to study at our world-leading institutions. Its main aim is to help simplify the visa
application process for international students looking to study on a Masters’ course,
in the UK, of 13 months or less. It will also help to support students who wish to
switch into a work route and take up a graduate role by extending the leave period
following the end of their study to up to six months. The pilot does not make any
changes to the Tier 2 visa route and is not a return to the post-study work visa route,
which we closed in April 2012 due to high levels of abuse.</p><p> </p><p>The institutions
taking part in the pilot were chosen due to their consistently low level of visa refusals.
It is a fundamental requirement of Tier 4 that education institutions who recruit
international students take responsibility for them. This means the institution must
ensure the student is genuine and meets the requirements of the Immigration Rules,
before assigning them a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), as well as ensuring
that the student leaves the UK at the end of his or her studies.</p>
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