§ 15. Mr. Macfarlaneasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what new steps he proposes to take to ensure compliance with the conditions upon which visas are granted to immigrant students.
§ 22. Mr. Formanasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will ensure that no applicant seeking to enter the United Kingdom on a student's visa is permitted to do so until he has produced satisfactory evidence that he is able to benefit from the course for which he has applied.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe immigration rules for control on entry, laid before Parliament, require a person seeking entry for study in the United Kingdom to satisfy the officer to whom he applies of, among other matters, his ability to follow a full-time course of study. The rules for control after entry impose similar requirements on anyone seeking an extension of stay as a student. We have no plans for further controls.
§ Mr. MacfarlaneIs it not a fact that in recent years there has been an alarming growth in the number of overseas students who have come to this country and opted out of their courses soon after arriving? Would it not be right for the Home Office, the Department of Education and Science and local authorities to start monitoring this aspect very urgently?
§ Dr. SummerskillWe certainly have it in mind to seek the co-operation of colleges in resolving the difficulties mentioned by the hon. Gentleman and drawing the attention of principals of colleges to the value of entry clearance being obtained by students before they come to this country.
§ Mr. George CunninghamDoes my hon. Friend realise that many of us who are interested in education in the interests of developing countries believe that many, though not all, courses are best given in 1557 the developing countries themselves? To what extent does the Home Office take that into account in deciding whether a visa should be given for training in this country?
§ Dr. SummerskillThe absence of sufficient courses in developing countries is a matter for another of my right hon. or hon. Friends. The courses in this country are either language courses or other educational courses for people from foreign or Commonwealth countries.
§ Mr. FormanWill the hon. Lady assure the House that entry under a student visa is always governed by considerations of genuine aptitude and ability and that there are no loopholes in this system through which illegal immigrants can come?
§ Dr. SummerskillThis is why we have definite immigration rules for control on entry and why we are making every effort to see that the rules are adhered to.
§ Mr. Alexander W. LyonWill my hon. Friend tell the House that not only are there these rules but there is also a very strict interpretation of them by entry certificate officers, to the point where even genuine students with a full course arranged, and with maintenance also arranged, cannot obtain entry into the country because it is suspected that they may not leave at the end of their course?
§ Dr. SummerskillIf my hon. Friend can send me particulars of the specific cases to which he refers, I shall certainly look into them.
§ Mr. AlisonLeaving aside the procedures for entry, what machinery does the Home Office have for monitoring the requirements for an extension of courses or applications for permission to stay after the expiry of a right of stay, and is that monitoring regularly applied?
§ Dr. SummerskillIt is certainly applied regularly. The same conditions apply to the student extending his course as to the student coming in. Because we are anxious to see that the rules are adhered to, we co-operate fully with the Department of Education and Science.