Foreign students who abandoned their student visa and switched to skilled worker visas in the UK risk a five-year ban, report says.
The UK government says it is currently compiling a list of students in colleges and universities who breached UK rules by switching visas without completing their studies.
Information Nigeria understands that some students who entered the UK with a student visa stopped their education at an early stage to pursue a Tier-2 visa without fulfilling the requirements of their Tier-4 student visa.
The home office said: “For those students who break the rule of tier-2 and tier-4, the Home office starts working with some UK universities to make a list of these individuals.
“This list is used by some major authorities to take the proper actions.
“If somebody is involved in such actions, they could have serious and long-lasting consequences.
“They may face a ban of up to five years, preventing them from returning to the UK.
“Also, they may be asked to leave the country permanently.
“It should be noted that even if some individuals are granted indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom, it is not guaranteed.”
Information Nigeria recalls that numerous Nigerian youths had in the last two years applied to study abroad due to the unpredictability of the Nigerian economy and security.
This ignited a wave of mass resignations which affected several companies in the country.
Reporting by Gbenga Odunsi in UK
