Student visa refusals

Refusal rate rockets in UK

Student visa refusals by UK authorities have increased considerably, according to information released by UKVisas, the body responsible for processing visa applications. UKVisas revealed that it refused almost 30 per cent of applicants in the 2002/2003 academic year.

According to a report in The Observer newspaper, which highlighted that close to one-in-three students was rejected in that period, the Foreign Office said that only bogus students were denied entry to the UK. The Foreign Office is jointly responsible for UKVisas with the Home Office.

UK Visas refused 52,520 requests in this period, and the number of students arriving on student visas from outside the European Union fell by 14 per cent. Rejection was most common in South Asia, while nearly half of applicants from Equatorial Guinea were refused.

According to a separate study from the National Audit Office, refusal rates for student visa holders are twice as high as the refusal rate for tourists and four times higher than for work permit applicants.

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bei@London.com