British visa rules to affect 20,000 Chinese
By IANSWednesday, December 15, 2010
BEIJING - Around 20,000 Chinese students may be forced to leave Britain if new proposals to tighten British visa policies come into effect next year, a media report said Wednesday.
The British Home Office intends to tighten visa regulations for international students to reduce the country’s annual migration and cope with high domestic unemployment. The Home Office has posted a note on its website seeking public opinion about the proposal till Jan 31.
About 85,000 Chinese people are in Britain on student visas, out of which 20,000 are taking courses beneath the bachelor-degree level.
If the policies are adopted, the 20,000 Chinese students may have to leave Britain in the coming months, Beijing-based Mirror Evening News reported citing officials from the British Council in China.
The new regulations would cancel the Post Study Work (PSW) policy, which grants foreign students up to two years of free access to the labour market.
