Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 15 November (HL3024), whether they will now answer the first part of the question asked: whether nationality or country of origin is a factor taken into account to assess the potential level of risk that an international student applying for a visa might pose.

A range of different factors and attributes are taken into account to assess the potential level of risk that an international student applying for a visa might pose to the UK border. In considering the entire Tier 4 visa application, an individual’s nationality can be a factor in assessing the level of the risk.

A Policy Equality Statement was undertaken to accompany the new provision under the Immigration Rules from 30 July 2012, for an Entry Clearance Officer to be satisfied that an applicant is a genuine student before granting entry clearance under Tier 4.