Million Plus

In a joint statement from No 10 the Prime Minister and Home Secretary have announced that with effect from November the institutional visa refusal rate to CAS will be cut to 10% from the current 20% rate. The university think tank million+ has said that the Government has failed to produce any evidence of immigration abuse to justify the decision to require education institutions with Highly Trusted Status to halve to 10% the visa refusal rate of potential students to whom they have issued a confirmation of acceptance of study (CAS).

Pam Tatlow, Chief Executive of the university think-tank million+, said:

“Universities have no control over the rate of visa refusals but surveys of students confirm that the majority are refused a visa by UKVI for administrative rather than credibility reasons.”

“The Home Office has refused to provide any evidence that visa refusal rates are a quality measure of an institution's performance in terms of Highly Trusted Status.”

“This announcement is another blow to institutions seeking to promote the excellence of UK higher education overseas and it suggests that the Department responsible for universities has lost out to a Home Office desperate to reduce migration numbers in advance of the election.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors
1. For further information or to arrange an interview, contact press@millionplus.ac.uk | 020 7717 1658
2. million+ is a leading university think-tank. More information can be found at www.millionplus.ac.uk
3. The full statement can be found here