Unis Resist Border Controls

by Gwyneth Lonergan (Lancaster University) and Samuel Solomon (University of Sussex)

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Health Surcharge (IHS) has gotten a lot of media attention as the government agreed, after much public pressure, to waive the surcharge for migrant NHS staff and care workers. The surcharge is a levy applied to work, spousal, and student visas, and was introduced following the 2014 Immigration Act, ostensibly to defray the ‘cost’ of migrants on these visas to the NHS.  Initially set at £200/year [£150 for students], it was increased to £400/year in 2018, and will rise to £624 in October.  A person applying for a three- year Tier 2 (General) work visa will therefore pay £1,872 for the health surcharge alone.  Non-EU migrants therefore pay a very literal price to work and study in the UK.  A Tier 2 (General) visa costs a minimum of around £450/year, in addition to the health surcharge, and applying for “Indefinite Leave to Remain” costs a minimum of £2,389.

Continue reading “The IHS is unhealthy for everyone: the hostile environment as a threat to wellbeing in Higher Education and beyond”

In July, Unis Resist Border Controls (URBC) with the help of Migrants’ Rights Network (MRN) launched two letters concerning the COVID-19 situation for Tier 4 international students. The two letters called for an end to no recourse to public funds (NRPF) and a tuition fee amnesty for Tier 4 students.

Continue reading “URBC & MRN Campaign to End NRPF and Demand Tuition Fee Amnesty for Tier 4 Students”

In the beginning of May, Unis Resist Border Controls (URBC) launched a mutual aid fundraiser to support Tier 4 students impacted as a result of no recourse to public funds (NRPF). We have given up to £60 for grocery support and up to £150 for rent support to Tier 4 students left stranded because of NRPF.

Continue reading “Sign two letters to stop the exploitation of Tier 4 students as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown! DEADLINE TO SIGN // TUESDAY 14 JULY 2020”

By Caoimhe Mader-McGuinness

In 2018, a couple of weeks before the first semester was about to start, I received an obscure email asking me to attend a ‘timetabling presentation.’ As very little information was given about the nature of this unexpected session, and as it appeared to be targeted at people higher up in the chain of command (I have no power over timetable allocations), I decided to ignore this random summoning. I hadn’t yet noticed the small card reader installed across the classrooms in my department, and the purpose of this sudden email only became clear to me as I received a follow-up email in my inbox a couple of days later, as the PowerPoint from the session was forwarded to all teaching staff. 

Continue reading “Visa monitoring and surveillance technologies: on the instrumentalisation of pastoral care in universities”

On Friday 29th May 2020, the Home Office updated their guidelines for Tier 4 sponsors and students.

Continue reading “New Update from the Home Office Concerning COVID-19 Guidelines for Tier 4 International Students”