Overseas students to face strict British visa restrictions

October 6th, 2009 LONDON - The raging row between Pakistan and Britain on the issue of delay in issuing visas to Pakistanis by the British authorities is expected to overshadow the anti-terror talks between both countries when the British Secretary for Home Affairs Alan Johnson meets Pakistani political leaders in Islamabad. Johnson, who arrived in Islamabad along with Defence Secretary Bob Iansworth on Monday, would meet Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and other leaders to discuss several other issues apart from the visa row.

September 30th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - Hundreds of Indians thronged the UK visa application centre here to seek visas in a bid to beat the October 1 deadline when new and stricter visa guidelines will come into effect. People came in from Punjab and Haryana to submit their visa applications at the Visa Facilitation Services (VFS) centre for UK, but could not succeed even after waiting for over 24 hours as the counter closed before the scheduled time due to the heavy rush.eportedly, the authorities had to call in the police to control the crowd.

September 10th, 2009 LONDON - Pakistan-based terrorists are exploiting Britain's shoddy visa system to come to the country. Pakistan is considered by Britain as the No.1 base for Islamic extremists brainwashing potential terrorists.

September 10th, 2009 LONDON - British anti-terror border controls were described as wholly inadequate after a newspaper revealed that only 29 out of 66,000 Pakistani immigration applicants were interviewed by British officials. Visa checks on immigrants from Pakistan were condemned as a sham after the Daily Mail said official figures showed that just 29 out of 66,000 applicants were interviewed by officials since Britain put in place a supposedly rigorous system last October.

July 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The chairman of British parliament's Home Affairs Committee, Keith Vaz, on Wednesday said that India and the United Kingdom must act together to 'fight terrorism' that was entering both the countries in form of illegal immigrants. "Thousands and thousands of people are coming to Britain who aren't actually students, who get fake documents, who get entry to the United Kingdom and who don't attend any colleges.

July 21st, 2009 LONDON - The British Home Affairs Committee has said that tens of thousands of illegal immigrants get into the UK because they claim to attend colleges, which turn out to be fake,, despite he Government's claim that hundreds of bogus colleges have already been closed The committee said most come in on fraudulent visas in order to work illegally and not to further their education. Chairman Keith Vaz said it was "unacceptable and unbelievable" that ministers had done nothing about the problem despite knowing about it for more than a decade.

July 19th, 2009 SYDNEY - Australia sure is going all out to win back the confidence of Indians, specially students, after the spate of attacks on members of the community in the past few months. Immigration Minister Chris Evans is the latest to head to New Delhi to promote his country as a "safe destination".

July 4th, 2009 LONDON - British immigration officials in Pakistan devote just 11 minutes to scrutinize and pass a visa application in a country considered to be the hotbed of terrorism, the Telegraph has revealed. The revelation that officials are also not checking supporting evidence in thousands of applications from Pakistan and Afghanistan has fuelled security concerns.

April 27th, 2009 PUNE - The Foreigners' Registration Office (FRO) has issued notices to college authorities in Pune to provide information about foreign students. The notices have been issued to keep a check on the activities of foreign students.

April 23rd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has asked the British government not to deport its citizens who were rounded up on suspicion of links with terrorists, but were later released, as the UK Police could not produce evidence against them. Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said students had to undergo a harsh time behind bars and now it is up to the UK Government to compensate the students.

April 21st, 2009 LONDON - Students of Pakistani origin are being granted British visas on the basis of a telephone interview, even as investigation teams probe different aspects of a crackdown involving twelve alleged Pakistan 'student' terrorists. The Telegraph reports that British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has admitted that some visa applications are being decided over the telephone.

April 10th, 2009 LONDON - Pakistan has criticized Britain for its slack visa norms after it was disclosed that most of those who were nabbed during anti-terror raids in north-west of England were holding student visas. Pakistan's High Commissioner to Britain Wajid Shamsul Hasan said British authorities in were not doing enough to stop the illegal passage of people to the country.

April 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Getting a student visa to Britain will become much simpler. All you need to ensure is that you have got admission to a college there and will be able to support yourself financially during the course of the study.

February 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US Senate has accepted a modified amendment to the massive stimulus bill requiring companies accepting government bailout funds to hire H-1B visa holders under strict hiring standards so that qualified American workers are not replaced. The original amendment to the over $800 billion stimulus bill sought outright prohibition on businesses receiving government funds from hiring holders of H-1B visa, a bulk of which are cornered by Indians.

January 22nd, 2009 LONDON - The British government should relax visa regulations for highly skilled workers from India and other countries outside Europe, who face joblessness or cuts in salaries because of the credit crunch, a lobby group said Friday. The Highly Skilled Migrants Programme (HSMP) Forum said in a statement that visa extension rules that require evidence of high salaries or incomes from doctors, engineers and other professionals were unrealistic in the current economic climate.