Three UK universities put on student visa ‘action plans’

Three UK universities have been placed on student visa sponsorship “action plans”.

Home Office guidance says that institutions can be placed on an action plan when they have “committed a breach, short of a serious breach” of the sponsor requirements, giving them an “opportunity to improve [their] processes in order to avoid any further breaches, and to ensure that it does not become necessary for [UK Visas and Immigration] to revoke [their] licence”, which is a requirement for enrolling international students.

Home Office records show that three UK higher education institutions are currently subject to action plans: the University of Central Lancashire (Uclan), De Montfort University and Nottingham Trent University.

The reasons the institutions have been placed on action plans have not been disclosed, but assessments cover metrics such as visa refusal, enrolment and course completion rates.

Sponsors must pay a fee when they are placed on an action plan, which typically lasts three to six months.

Jonathan Hill, a senior manager at immigration law firm Fragomen, told Times Higher Education that it was reasonably rare for large institutions to be placed on action plans, so it would be a “significant concern” for any that are.

Of the hundreds of institutions on the Home Office’s student sponsor register, which also covers colleges, independent schools and private providers, only one other – Oxford International College Brighton – is currently subject to an action plan.

It comes as the financial crisis in UK higher education has made universities ever more reliant on international student revenues to stay afloat.

“If I were involved in a day-to-day basis with any of those universities, I would have fixing this right at the top of my to-do list,” said Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute. “International students are the oil that keeps our system going…they lubricate everything else that goes on.”

Only two UK universities are known to have had their visa sponsorship licences revoked: London Metropolitan University in 2012, and Birmingham Newman University in 2018. Both have since been reinstated. Other providers have had their licences suspended in the past.

A De Montfort spokesperson said: “We take our responsibilities very seriously and are confident we will fully meet UKVI requirements in all respects.”

A Nottingham Trent spokesperson said: “We are in a routine cyclical audit by UKVI. As the audit is yet to conclude we are unable to comment any further at this time. We remain licensed to sponsor students under the student sponsor route.”

Uclan was approached for comment.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We expect all our sponsors to adopt high standards to stamp out any abuse of the immigration system.

“It is longstanding government policy that we do not routinely comment on individual cases.”

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com