Raushan is 33-years-old and has lived in the United Kingdom for almost two years now, his parents are envied by neighbours because they can boast that their eldest son lives in the UK.He sends them English chocolates and some clothes from the summer and winter collection sales and his family couldn't be any happier.
How did he manage to secure a visa to enter the UK? Speaking to Raushan, he says bogus student agents are leading innocent students up the garden path. Raushan fell victim to a bogus student agent who has left his fate dangling by a thread.
"I am not the only one who has fallen prey to this scam, there are thousands more", Raushan said.
After years of review the latest UK's student visa reforms were announced on March 31. Scheduled to be implemented on April 21, the reforms will introduce an interim limit for UK education providers who do not currently meet the new accreditation requirements on the number of international students they may sponsor.Read moreThe reform instructs all education providers in the UK to become 'Highly Trusted Sponsors' by April 2012 or risk the licence to sponsor international students being cancelled. The reforms are straightforward, but many immigration fraudsters will still fish for loopholes and Sri Lankan students are one of the most vulnerable
A majority of Sri Lankan students prefer the UK for higher education, their global acclaim and diplomatic marketing makes their universities become the top choice for aspiring students. All information pertaining to courses and eligibility for one to apply are available on university websites and anyone with reasonable English language ability can comprehend its content and assess their eligibility to apply. Beware of bogus student agents who call themselves 'Migration Consultants' or 'Course Counsellors' and desperately advertise single liners to attract youngsters who await opportunities to realise their UK dream.
"I was introduced to my agent Mahir through a friend of mine who had gone to him to get a financial sponsor to show sufficient funds to have a UK student visa stamped and I was tempted to the same thing too.
I completed my Advanced Level in the commerce stream and worked in the pharmaceutical sector for over 10 years.
I wanted to pursue my higher education in the same field and he said it was possible but after about four months of the initial meeting he said he had to re-do my A/L results because the University was not willing to offer me a place for the course because I did commerce subjects.
This cost Rs 30,000. One thing led to another and I ended up paying nearly 350,000 rupees including my ticket fare by the time I got here, I knew they had trapped me because the institute did not even have a proper reception and later it was shut down by the UK Border Agency Officials", said Raushan.
I responded to a tabloid advertisement with three mobile numbers which promised free student visas to UK. After a long battle to get through to the numbers a man finally answered with a fake accent.
He claimed that he has been a 'Migration Consultant' for over a decade now and admits to sending many aspiring students to the UK on a student visa. After vehemently refusing to meet me in his office, he told me that he will meet me closer to Grandpass.
A man of average height appreared, he was loaded with accessories on his neck and wrists.
He spoke with a funny accent which did not do justice to the decade long residency he claimed he had in the UK.
Unaware I was really not a student, he told me that the total cost for a visa now will amount to Rs 500,000, Rs 150,000 more than what Raushan paid two years back.
He said he will accommodate the payment on an installment basis, if I had financial difficulty.
Had I not been impersonating an aspiring student to study overseas, I would have joined the number of misled Sri Lankan students living in the UK, in about five months time.
"We request students who wish to pursue their higher education to seek clarification directly from us, this is the safest approach to ensure that students are given correct information.
This will eliminate the possibility of students being misled" Head of Education UK of the British Council in Sri Lanka, Fahim Shakoor told the Sunday Observer.
UK education certainly does not come cheap.
It is a costly affair. A deeper dig at the UK Border Agency website can give you an indication of that. Given that the revised rules classify courses according to its duration, the table above details the living costs you will incurr in the UK as a fresh student.
These costs exclude the course fees ranging from GBP 3,000 for most courses offered by Colleges which have lower recognition when compared to courses offered at Universities which can cost you from GBP 7000-20000 depending on the course, Aspiring students must identify the fake advertisements that claim that a UK student visa can be obtained for anything less than a million rupees, let alone have it free of charge.
Consultants are required to have legal accreditations, having lived in the UK for years does not entitle anybody to start a student agency in the name of consultancy if they don't conform to the accreditations.
Sunday Observer by Omar RAJARATHNAM
