Impact of proposed restrictions on Tier 4 migration

The Home Affairs Committee is today announcing a new inquiry into the impact of proposed restrictions on Tier 4 migration in response to the Home Secretary launching a public consultation on student visas.

This inquiry will be launched at a round table discussion on 13 December where it will meet with key stakeholders from relevant sectors in order to discuss the impact of any proposed restrictions. The event will be attended by representatives from higher education and further education institutes as well as representatives from English Language schools.

 In particular the inquiry will focus on:

• Whether the cuts should be limited to certain types of courses (e.g. pre-degree level);
• The impact different levels of cuts might have on the various sectors;
• The impact, if any, that reductions in student visas might have on the UK’s standing in the world; 
• Whether cuts in student visas would have any effect on the decisions of highly qualified graduates to conduct research or take up teaching posts in the UK;
• Whether the post study route should be continued;
• The educational routes through which students come to the UK to study at degree level; and 
• International comparisons.

The Committee is seeking written submissions of no more than 2,500 words from interested parties, before it takes oral evidence on this inquiry. Organisations and individuals interested in making written submissions are invited to do so by Friday 14th January 2011. Further advice on making a submission can be found below.

Oral evidence sessions will be held on Tuesdays in the new year: further announcements will be made in due course.

Rt Hon Keith Vaz MP, Chair of the Committee, said: “Education is one of this country’s greatest exports. International students often maintain trade and knowledge links with the UK for years after they have returned to their country of origin. The Home Affairs Committee are concerned that any arbitrary decision to restrict the number of international students will be of grave danger to the UK economy and reputation”

“By allowing interested parties to highlight how they might be affected by restrictions on Tier 4 visas, we hope to ensure that any restrictions proposed by the Government do not disadvantage a vibrant and successful industry.”

 “We respect the fact that the Government wishes to tighten up the immigration system but feel that, as we stated in our recent report on the immigration cap, efforts would be far better directed towards tackling bogus colleges and those who overstay their visas in order to seek employment, than penalising legitimate students.”

Immigration Cap (HC 361) First Report of Session 2009-10 

Bogus Colleges (HC 595) Eleventh Report of Session 2008-09 

Further Information:

Written evidence should if possible be in Word or rich text format—not PDF format—and sent by e-mail. The use of colour and expensive-to-print material, e.g. photographs, should be avoided. The body of the e-mail must include a contact name, telephone number and postal address. The e-mail should also make clear who the submission is from. Submissions must address the terms of reference. They should be in the format of a self-contained memorandum. Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference, and the document must include an executive summary.

Further guidance on the submission of evidence

Submissions should be original work, not previously published or circulated elsewhere, though previously published work can be referred to in a submission and submitted as supplementary material. Once submitted, your submission becomes the property of the Committee and no public use should be made of it unless you have first obtained permission from the Clerk of the Committee.

Please bear in mind that the Committee is not able to investigate individual cases.

The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to publish the written evidence it receives, either by printing the evidence, publishing it on the internet or making it publicly available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure; the Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.

For data protection purposes, it would be helpful if individuals wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details in a covering letter or e-mail. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The remit of the Home Affairs Committee is to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Home Office and its associated public bodies.