"Would you like to fly with your spouse and loved ones?"
According to reports, UK universities work with consultancy organisations which recruit Indian students with an offer that they can bring their families to the UK.
Allegedly, universities pay commissions to agencies that assist aspiring Indian students in obtaining visas for their families.
Additionally, the agents help students find part-time employment while they are still in school and promote “graduate visas”, which permit them to remain and work in the UK for two years after they have finished their studies.
Even a “full-time job” for a spouse might be “guaranteed” according to one agent, along with the two-year “residence”.
The reports coincide with government worries about a nearly threefold increase in dependent students receiving UK visas, from 44,000 to more than 116,000 in just one year.
To lower net migration, UK government ministers are considering limiting the number of dependents admitted to the UK.
This will include placing limitations on international students enrolling in “substandard” courses.
Coventry, Ulster, Middlesex, Birkbeck, Westminster and Greenwich universities are just a few of the more than 70 universities that New Way Consultancy (NWC) claims to deal with.
Each student they bring in results in commission payments to these firms.
On Facebook, the NWC wrote:
“Do you want to study in the UK? Do you have plans to become a citizen of the world?
“Would you like to fly with your spouse and loved ones?
“Apply quickly and secure your admission as soon as possible via NWC, we are the official representative of over 75 UK universities.”
Another advertisement for Birmingham City University’s 30 postgraduate programmes advised candidates to “fly with a spouse” and a third stated that “dependents could apply together”.
A fourth stated that securing a two-year post-graduate job had a “high visa success rate.”
Another agency, Aim Britz, advertises 36 universities that are rated as “high-ranking”, “popular”, or “cheaper” on its website.
A Facebook post from Aim Britz reads:
“Would you like to continue your career in the UK and are also planning to take your spouse to the UK but not sure where to start?
“Don’t worry, Aim Britz will just take care of it.”
“We’re also giving you back the support with a full-time job guaranteed to the spouse, two years of residency [post-study work visas] IELTS [International English Language Testing System] Exams, year gap accepted, funding available.”
According to mastersportal.com, Britain is not among the top five countries for Indian students looking to study abroad.
But 161,000 students and their dependents from India came to the UK in 2021, making them the largest foreign group on its campuses.
Loading ...