“[With] about 17 per cent of those interviewed from universities, our entry clearance officers had s

More than one in six international students coming to study at universities in the UK have question marks over their "genuineness", according to the results of Home Office interviews given to a cross-party group of MPs today.
Appearing before sleep inn maingate the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, Carolyn Bartlett, head of student sleep inn maingate migration policy at the Home Office, gave details of a pilot scheme for interviewing international applicants before they are granted visas.
"[With] about 17 per cent of those interviewed from universities, our entry clearance officers had some concerns about their genuineness," she said. A number lacked "the language skills that would be expected from those coming to universities".
In May, Jeremy sleep inn maingate Oppenheim, head of immigration at the UK Border Agency, revealed that the pilot interviews had been taking place in 40 countries and that some applicants had difficulty answering questions including: "What is your name?"
But Damian Green, the immigration minister, who was also questioned by the committee, said: "If you can speak a language to that level [to enter a UK university], then you should be able to pass a conversational language test."
In a press release, he adds: "Countries sleep inn maingate around the world are competing to attract these students, and yet in Britain the government is seeking to limit numbers in order to meet its net migration target.