Thousands of young Indians, mainly from Punjab, are entering Britain on falsely obtained student visas, a media report claimed today.
Undercover reporters found foreign agents offering would-be students 10,500 pounds loans so they can convince the UK Border Agency in their visa applications that they have enough money in their bank account to pay fees and support themselves in Britain.
The money is handed back to the lender as soon as it has appeared on bank statements for a month, the Sunday Times report said.
The cost to the student is a 7 per cent interest charge and 200 pounds processing fee, which amounts to about 935 pounds. In a covertly filmed investigation, the newspaper claimed it has established that the scam is operating widely in towns in Punjab.
It threatened to undermine new Home Office immigration rules which ministers insisted would reduce the number of new arrivals.
Instead, the number of visas granted to Indian students has nearly doubled in the past year, from 29,000 to 52,000. According to the report, many have no intention of studying and simply disappear after entering the UK.
The new points-based entry system was created by Liam Byrne, the former immigration minister and now chief secretary to the Treasury.
Students need 40 points to come to Britain. They receive 30 for holding a course offer from a college or university and 10 for proving that they can pay fees and support themselves.
The report quoted Vikram Choudhri, criminal lawyer to the chief minister of Punjab, saying: "Thousands of students are going to the UK every year to work and earn there. Their main motive is to go and settle and very few go to universities."
Under the new rules, students have to show they have 7,200 pounds in their bank accounts plus the first year's fees for a course in London, or 5,400 pounds plus a year's fees for a course outside the capital.
The report also cited a number of cases where visa agencies in different Punjabi towns trying to help the undercover reporter to get visa to the UK.
The report said in Pakistan, however, checks appear to have been less than thorough. In September, the Home Office reported that just 29 out of 66,000 visa applicants from Pakistan had been interviewed in the past year.
