Whitehall's border bullies are driving overseas students away

By Sue Cameron. The UK Border Agency is driving the brightest foreign students into the arms of our economic rivals.
 When the Afghanistan veteran Mark Sedwill takes over as permanent secretary at the Home Office next month, his experience opposing the Taliban may help him deal with a scandal that must surely be at the top of his in-tray. The Home Office crackdown on immigration, laudable in itself, is being run in a way reminiscent of the Stasi when it comes to foreign students.
Tales are growing of the UK Border Agency’s bullying and its use of bureaucracy as a weapon against foreign students and our universities. Overseas students coming to this country are worth an estimated £8 billion a year to our economy, but academics say the agency’s hostile attitude is drying up the numbers – the total from India alone was down by nearly a quarter last year. Restrictions and regulations worthy of Kafka are damaging Britain’s reputation abroad and crippling private sector colleges. Read more...