LONDON: Britain announced stricter immigration rules for students from India and elsewhere to prevent them from abusing the system by entering the country as 'students' and then disappearing.

Official sources said the new system, known as Tier 4, will be more transparent and easily understood and will simplify the existing immigration rules for genuine students and education providers.

The new student visa system under the Points Based System (PBS) will require colleges and universities to report about the international students who fail to attend courses after gaining student visas, they said.

They said one of the key benefits would be that students will be able to work out whether they have sufficient points to qualify before they make a visa application.

Under the new rules, universities and colleges will be required to take greater responsibility for their international students by, for example, reporting students who fail to attend courses after gaining student visas.

As per the new rules, universities and colleges will need to obtain a special license if they wish to recruit students from overseas. These arrangements, the sources said, will protect students from bogus colleges who attempt to abuse the system and exploit students.

Any education providers who fail to follow the new rules risk a ban on recruiting international students in the future and bogus colleges will be shut down.

Under the new rules, students will need to be sponsored by a licensed education institution and obtain an identity card in advance, have a good academic track record and demonstrate they can financially support themselves and any dependants.

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