PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE STUDENT IMMIGRATION REGIME

Minister Frances Fitzgerald recently announced major reforms of the Student Immigration and International Education Sector. A policy statement entitled Regulatory Reform of the International Education Sector and the Student Immigration Regime is available on the INIS website and sets out the key reforms, the most significant of which appears to be proposed changes to the student work concession. 

The policy statement recognises the significant contribution that international students make to the Irish economy, which is estimated as in excess of €800 million. The policy proposes to introduce higher regulation of the third level education sector in Ireland to ensure that the sector provides high quality service and is not a route for a non EEA students to access the labour market in Ireland but rather a route to attain their personal education aspirations. The view of the Department of Justice & Equality is that some education providers have been acting as little more than “visa factories”. There is recognition in the policy that international students are in a vulnerable position but the main thrust of the policy is that the system is to be significantly reformed to create a robust regulatory environment. 

There are three pillars to the new regulatory framework. 

Under the first pillar, the Department proposes to replace the current internationalisation register, which specifies eligible programmes for non-EEA students and to replace it with an Interim List of Eligible Programmes for Student Immigration Permission (ILEP), which will be in place from the 1st of January 2015. 

The second pillar introduces an inspection and compliance regime such that INIS and the GNIB will have an enhanced inspection function. There is direct reference to the National Employment Rights Agency (NERA) becoming involved to investigate any abuse of the student work concession and there is also reference to involvement of the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social Protection. In addition there is a proposal to set up a compliance working group to focus on the student work concession. 

The final pillar is what we believe will be the most significant change for non-EEA students and is described in the policy as a “strengthening” of the terms of the student work concession. What this in fact amounts to is a restriction on the work concession. At present, non-EEA students attending a full time programme on the Internationalization Register are permitted to work up to 20 hours per week during term and up to 40 hours per week outside of term. It is the view of the Department that permission to work cannot be justified in all circumstances. The policy document proposes that from the 1st of January 2015, the work concession will be aligned and essentially restricted such that students can only work 40 hours per week during the months of May, June, July and August and from 15th of December to 15th of January inclusive. There will therefore be no flexibility as to when students work 40 hours per week and when they work 20 hours per week. The policy states that the set periods during which students can work 40 hours per week will be irrespective of the programme timetable. It is unclear how non-EEA students will be able to manage working and attending a full time course where the course runs during the summer months and how the new policy will work in practice. 

This policy document is the most significant reform of the student immigration regime since the changes implemented in 2011. They will have wide ranging impacts on non-EEA students seeking to come to Ireland after 1st of January 2015 and they will have a knock on effect on the visa application process and the financial requirements for new students coming to Ireland particularly in light of the proposed amendments to the work concession. To our mind, it is likely that students will struggle to financially support themselves through studies in Ireland if they are restricted in when they can work. It is unlikely that employers will be able to offer employment during set periods given that the set periods do not take account of the need for flexibility in the employment sector.

Further information on the changes can be found on the INIS website here. 

Rebecca Keatinge

Brophy Solicitors

UK Guardian: EU Students say permit delays are putting degrees at risk

An article in the UK Guardian reports how delays for work permits are damaging the employment opportunities for Romanian students. One student, Emilia Gheorghe, described how, as a second-year university student, she should be beginning work at a summer school, trying to boost her CV and help her obtain post-graduate employment. Instead, she is forced to wait for the UK Border Agency (UKBA) to process her application for a work permit. She submitted her application over eighteen months ago, and she still has not heard a decision. This delay has forced her into limbo, without permission to work, and she is missing valuable opportunities as a result.

The situation that Gheorghe is in is not unique. At least a few dozen other Romanian students studying in the UK have experienced extraordinary delays in the processing of their visa applications. Without the visa, students are not able to work part-time jobs to support themselves, and obtain jobs in their field to gain experience that could be crucial when it comes to starting a career. Various complaints have been lodged by the students to the UKBA, and a formal petition was filed, stating, “If the United Kingdom . . . would like to continue setting a high educational standard and attracting the best and brightest from across the glob, the UKBA needs to guarantee that it will process visa applications in a timely, transparent, and effective manner.”

When Romania and Bulgaria were accepted into the EU in 2007, there was an initial gradual transition period, where they were not allowed to work. However, after a few years, students obtained permission to work f they could provide a registration certificate confirming that they are students. The UKBA has promised to process these applications quickly, but students are experiencing a significant delay.

Ireland has recently lifted all restrictions on Romanian and Bulgarian workers, meaning that they now have total access to the labor market, but the UKBA has issued statements saying that it intends to keep the restrictions on the labor market in place until January 1, 2014, keeping them until the end of the seven-year transition period.

Brophy Solicitors

03.08.12

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/aug/02/work-permit-delays-plague-romanian-students

Debunking the myths about international student migration

An article from the UK Guardian on 20^th July 2012 engages in a discussion about the benefits of having international students study at universities in the UK. Foreign students studying in England have been the topic of much controversy and debate, and the author of this article aims to put these arguments to rest.

He begins by debunking three common myths about foreign students. First, he says, foreign students are not taking the place of home students. They are evaluated for acceptance in completely different systems, and there is a cap on the number of UK students admitted to any university, so UK students are never competing for spots. Second, he addresses the myth that foreign students arrive in the UK, soak up knowledge, and then leave without contributing anything back. The author argues that the presence of global perspectives in a classroom is a valuable learning experience for home students. The third myth, and arguably the most common, is that international students will continue to arrive to study in the UK. There are new competitors seeking international students, namely the United States, Canada, and Australia, and the UK will have to work to make sure that international students continue to choose British universities. Already, international students only comprise 13% of the student body, and if international students feel as though their presence is unwelcome, they might seek their education in a different country. It is widely accepted that international students greatly benefit the classroom, they are an important part of the economy, and they foster beneficial relationships between countries, so the UK would benefit from making sure that international students continue to come there to study. The author concludes by saying, “We are convinced now more than ever that the international dimensions of higher education are central to the wellbeing and prosperity of the UK.”

Brophy Solicitors

23.07.12

http://www.guardian.co.uk/higher-education-network/blog/2012/jul/20/myths-internationalisation-higher-education