Fate of student visa seekers to UK uncertain

The fate of hundreds of students seeking visa to the United Kingdom has become uncertain as their applications have remained pending at the British High Commission in Dhaka for over four months, it was alleged. These students got admitted in different educational institutions in the UK to study Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) fundamental (Level-6). They are eligible to get visa without any English language test score. These students were considered eligible for the course since they became 21 years old. They were, according to the UK Border agency rules, to get decision on their applications within two weeks of submission. Most of the applicants' classes in their UK institutions have been started. They are now uncertain about their student life and not sure if they are going to get visas or not. An UK Border Agency official in Dhaka told the FE that the delay was regrettable but 'we have a duty to ensure that only the students who are qualified and who are sponsored by colleges meeting their obligations are permitted to study in the UK'. Some of the students did not get admitted in local educational institutions, as they were trying to study in the UK. They have already lost one year from their life. Visa seeker Md. Shafayet Ullah (Application Tracking No- Sylh2701110569411) told the FE that he had submitted the visa application to Sylhet VFS centre on January 27 this year. He was supposed to get return of the passport within three weeks of submission. "Till today I didn't get back my passport despite the fact that I contacted the British High Commission in Dhaka at least 10 times through e-mail and submitting paper application," he said. He said, "I am studying in a government college at honours level. To apply for the UK visa I did collect my certificates and mark sheets from the college and submit them to the British High Commission's visa application centre. I was to re-deposit the mark sheets and certificates back to the college within one month to keep my admission intact." "I couldn't re-submit the certificates and mark sheets back even after four months. Now the college authority is threatening cancellation of my admission," said Md Shafayet Ullah. Another applicant Md. Iffat Imtiaz Hossain (Tracking No.-Dhak0501110750701) said he has repeatedly contacted the British High Commission through e-mail and formal letters to get his passport back. "If there is any problem with my papers, they can ask me for re-submission. But the High Commission's immigration section is not returning my passport and documents. Now I am uncertain about my student life," he said. Another applicant Md. Atikur Rahman (Tracking No.-SYLH0901110561381) said: "Each time I sent e-mail to the British High Commission I received the same reply that the application was still under process at the High Commission. "You will be notified after the completion of the process by SMS or you can check your status from our website," the High Commission replied. An official of the UK Border Agency in the British High Commission in Dhaka through an e-mail reply informed the FE that the Agency received a large number of Tier 4 visa applications since the beginning of 2011, with a rush of applications in the run up to the Immigration Rules changes on April 21. "Unfortunately the high volume of applications does mean that applicants will experience some delays in the processing of their student visa applications. In addition, the UK Border Agency is seeing abuse of the student visa process, and applications that raise concerns require additional scrutiny. Many of the applicants currently waiting are to study ACCA courses at colleges in the UK." It said: "Recent UK Border Agency interviews with students have shown that many do not speak basic conversational English and sponsors have not adequately assessed the applicants at B1 level." "The UK Border Agency's customer service target is to process 90 per cent of non-settlement visa applications (which include student visa applications) within 15 working days. However, if further scrutiny and enquiries are required before coming to a decision on individual cases, these applications will take longer to process."