HOW MIGRANTS EXPLOIT OUR LAX VISA CONTROLS

IMMIGRATION officials are not carrying out proper checks on thousands of visa applications by visitors from high-risk countries including Pakistan and Iran, a Whitehall watchdog has warned.

Border control staff at visa issuing offices overseas were understaffed and “under strain”.

They were frequently at risk of not spotting immigration cheats, said the watchdog report.

Last night, the Tories warned that the blunders mean illegal immigrants and potential terrorists may be going undetected.

A catalogue of failings was uncovered in a report from Linda Costelloe Baker, the Independent Monitor for Entry Clearance.

She warned that UK Border Agency staff did not have “enough time to go through applications carefully”.

Officials were under pressure coping with the visa processing system in countries including Pakistan, Iran and Bangladesh. All have a recent history of political violence and instability, and are thought to harbour militants who are a threat to Britain.

She said staff numbers in visa processing offices were often far below official levels – in one case fewer than half that reported.

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Grayling said: “The more we learn about the way the Government has been running the immigration system for the past few years, the clearer it becomes that it has been chaotic.

“What we need is tight controls on who can come here and a proper process to investigate dodgy applications.”

The report warned that a rule banning the award of visas to applicants who have previously broken British immigration rules was not consistently applied. In one example “the visit visa ­applicant had overstayed in the UK, used a state school and the NHS – all in contravention of the visa conditions – and, allegedly, lied to an Immigration Office.”

Ms Costelloe Baker wrote: “Material evidence is, increasingly, misread or overlooked.

“Officers tell me that they do not have enough time to go through applications carefully.continues here

Seminars on UK visa rules for students

The Falcon Education & Consultancy Services (private) Limited (FECS) will hold seminars in various cities of the country with an aim to provide effective and updated information to the local students seeking admission in prestigious universities in the United Kingdom (UK). 

The seminars addressing the recently launched new UK visa rules, known as Points Based System (PBS), will be held in four major cities — Karachi (April 7), Lahore (April 8), Islamabad (April 9) and Peshawar (April 10).

The seminars will help all Pakistani students in preparing their visa files and documentation without the help of immigration agents and education consultants, who often fleece the students by charging them with heavy fees for the preparation and submission of student visas.

The newly launched PBS replaces the old system and has been designed to facilitate genuine and bona fide students through simple and clear rules. The UK Boarder Agency encourages students not to use agents-consultants and follow the rules specified and available on the websites of UK Boarder Agency and the British High Commission. 

The seminars will also look into ways and means of getting various kinds of scholarships available in the UK for those students who are stuck due to funding problems from the HEC. 

The FECS provides services in various areas including the choice of prestigious universities, career counselling, swift admission services, fast track visa processing, pre-departure orientation, post arrival guidance, institutional collaboration and customised research.

FECS CEO Syed Abidi, in his message, said that studying abroad is a very important and expensive decision, and one wrong advice might lead the students to end up in a wrong course at a wrong university. “It’s essential for students to choose their academic service provider with a proven track record,” he said. 

He said the FECS has been working with an aim to help and assist students in finding their goals through study opportunities around the globe and promote educational institutions through cost effective marketing plans. 

Established in 1993, the FECS has, so far, placed more than 4,500 students throughout the world, not only from Pakistan but also from Bangladesh and Oman. It has a team of fully trained, professional and friendly staff at all its offices, ready to provide any information regarding the study opportunities abroad. “Our visa success rate throughout our operations has remained above 90 per cent, which clearly reflects the quality of our applications and our intention to only accept and process genuine students,” Syed Abidi said.

“In order to achieve our aims, we operate a full-time education counselling service. Our primary goal is to ensure that students, who are planning to study abroad, are given professional advice and information on the various requirements and procedures in a systematic manner and processing their applications for admission,” he said.  continues here

Student visa to UK made easier

United Kingdom has introduced new arrangements for student visas, as part of Tier 4 of the points-based system.

These new arrangements, a statement issued by the British embassy said, will make the visa process simpler, more objective and more transparent for applicants and prevent abuse of the immigration system.

 “From today, all education providers that recruit international students in the UK need to be registered with the UK Border Agency. More than 2,100 universities, independent schools and colleges have applied to be licensed sponsors. The institutions are responsible for ensuring that international students comply with the conditions of their visas while they are in the UK,” the statement said.

“Before a student makes a visa application he needs to ensure that he has an unconditional offer of a study place from a licensed education provider.  continues here