Under British law, only students at registered educational institutions are entitled to a student visa. However, some people manage to obtain and renew student visas without attending classes.
The BBC recorded on tape a telephone conversation between a young woman and an intermediary calling himself Valery. He promised to sell her the documents needed to renew her student visa, even though the woman made it clear she had no intention of attending classes.
Valery took the student to a college in London. In addition to a certificate of enrollment, he gave her papers showing that she had attended 36 of 40 classes. Attendance is also important to the Home Office, which deals with visas. The whole thing cost 350 pounds (more than $600).
Another intermediary offered to provide those interested with the paperwork needed for a student visa, sparing them even the need to attend classes. His services cost 300 pounds (more than $500). Advertisements offering help with visa applications can be found in several Russian-language newspapers in the UK.
The BBC also spoke to a man who came to the UK on a student visa and renewed it twice. He had not attended a single English class. “When my visa expired, friends told me it could be renewed. So I paid 600 pounds for a one-year course at a college.”
The Home Office said it recently inspected 83 registered English language schools. It is believed that more than half of them should be closed. According to some estimates, up to 50,000 people may have been involved in such student visa fraud, intending to stay in the UK illegally. The English UK association also believes that about 10% of accredited English language schools may be violating the rules.
Immigration officials said they are determined to crack down on fraudsters. Representatives of the Conservative Party called for urgent measures. In their view, the findings point to a crisis in Britain's immigration service.