Written question asked by Julie Kirkbride (Conservative) on Tuesday, 8 December 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 14 December 2009. It was answered by Phil Woolas (Labour) on Monday, 14 December 2009 on behalf of the Home Office.

Student Visas

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the system for processing student visa applications.

Answer: We implemented Tier 4 of the points based system on 31 March 2009, replacing the previous arrangements for overseas students to come and study in the UK. This ensures that only those colleges and schools who provide quality education and take responsibility for their students are licensed to bring in international students. We continuously monitor our systems and where improvements can be made we will make them. The Prime Minister recently announced a review of certain elements of Tier 4 and we are studying the recommendations.

Secondary information