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February 2, 2010 | India's plea to UK on visas for bonafide Indian students | New Delhi: India on Tuesday took note of United Kingdom's decision to temporarily halt accepting student visa applications at its centres in New Delhi, Chandigarh and Jalandhar. External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said the Government will ensure that the students are not 'adversely impacted'. "The Ministry of External Affairs has been in touch with the British High
Commission (BHC) on this matter to better understand the reasons behind this
decision and
also to ensure that bonafide Indian students planning to go to the UK for studies
are not adversely impacted," Prakash said. "The Ministry has taken note of the
fact that in parallel with the decision taken to temporarily suspend accepting
student visa applications under Tier 4 of the Point Based System at Visa Application
Centres in New Delhi, Chandigarh and Jalandhar, the UK Border Agency is also
investigating
a number of UK education providers and has, in the last week, suspended
approximately
60 from the education sponsors register," the statement added. Prakash also
emphasized
that educational cooperation between India and UK is an important facet of bilateral
relationship between the two countries, and said: "Student exchanges form a vital
component of this cooperation. We would remain in touch with the BHC on this
matter."
The U.K. Border Agency (UKBA) stopped student visa facilities from February 1,
2010 as it is investigating an inexplicable six-fold increase in demand. According
to official statistics, UKBA received 13,500 applications in October-December
2009, whereas in the same period in 2008 it was 1,800 and in 2007 it was 1,000.
The suspension started from Monday and will last until the end of the month at
which point staff at UKBA is expected to have trawled through the huge influx
of requests. Interviews and appointments as well as paper applications have been
suspended during the same period. Earlier, the head of the points-based system
at the UK Border Agency, Jeremy Oppenheim, said that his office continually checks
and monitors the student application system. "As a result of this routine monitoring
and an increase in applications, we have temporarily stopped accepting new
applications
from North India, Nepal, and Bangladesh while we carry out an investigation to
ensure they are all genuine," Oppenheim said. "We will take tough action against
those who attempt to abuse the system," he added. |
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