Licences to drive out immigration scam colleges

Universities and colleges could be barred from recruiting foreign students under new immigration rules announced today.

Under the changes - principally designed to combat bogus colleges used in immigration rackets - education institutions will need a licence to recruit overseas students.

In return, they will be required to ensure that students enrol for their courses and continue to attend them.

When students do not do this, colleges will be legally required to inform the Government or face losing their licence to recruit further applicants.

About 140 bogus colleges have been discovered over the past three years. They purport to offer education courses but are used to obtain visas for migrants fraudulently.

The new rules are likely to be unpopular with universities and other legitimate col leges because of the increased administrative burden.

Ministers will insist today, however, that the system is necessary to combat abuse and that properly run institutions will be able to comply with the rules without difficulty.