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Imperial to Reimburse Visa Fees

Jun 01 2006 13:58

Ashley Brown

College has announced a refund scheme for international students, where they will repay the £85 fee for the visa required to study in the UK.

An EU passport - if you don't have one, HM Government will take £85

Both undergraduate and postgraduate international students will be reimbursed the cost of their study visas when they start their course at Imperial. Non-EU students must obtain the visa before leaving their home country, at a cost of £85 - up from £36 before 2005.

College Rector, Sir Richard Sykes, explained the reason for this move:

"There are no borders when it comes to scientific research and we are keen to make sure Imperial continues to attract the best students from around the world regardless of nationality. Leaving your home country to study abroad can be a daunting prospect so it's important that we make it as easy as possible by removing any unnecessary difficulties."

Undergraduate tuition fees for international students have risen from around £16,500 to £17,500 this year, a rise of about 6%. Inflation is in the region of 2.4%, leading to an impression of College giving with one hand and taking away with the other.

Higher education institutions in the UK are increasingly reliant on fees from international students to balance government underfunding of home students.

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Discussion about “Imperial to Reimburse Visa Fees”

The comments below are unmoderated submissions by Live! readers. The Editor accepts no liability for their content, nor for any offence caused by them. Any complaints should be directed to the Editor.

1. Boomerang

Jun 07 2006 07:24

Do you reckon they'll reimburse home students who go on exchange from Imperial and are charged £700 for a visa and the associated medical examinations required to be able to obtain that visa???

2. Ashley Brown

Jun 07 2006 08:27

If they were charging you £17,500 a year, perhaps they would.

3. Cynic

Jun 07 2006 10:35

If I were an overseas student I would check my fees for next year havn't gone up by £85 to pay for it.

4. Ashley Brown

Jun 07 2006 10:54

"Undergraduate tuition fees for international students have risen from around £16,500 to £17,500 this year, a rise of about 6%. Inflation is in the region of 2.4%, leading to an impression of College giving with one hand and taking away with the other."

5. Cynic

Jun 07 2006 13:05

So far from giving £85 to students they are in effect taking £915 extra, doesn't sound great to me.

6. simon

Jun 07 2006 14:52

who can say "gimmick" fast enough ? :P

7. whoah

Jun 07 2006 15:49

£17,500!!! no wonder they never leave the library.

8. chinaman

Jun 08 2006 03:28

racist

9. Anon

Jun 08 2006 09:06

How on earth was that comment racist?

10. shocking

Jan 15 2007 11:33

raaaaaaaaaaaaaaacist!

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