The UK Border Agency's (UKBA) clamp down on international student visas is causing more mayhem than it is worth. To apply for a visa, international students are expected to provide bank statements, dated a month before they apply, proving they have sufficient funds to pay their tuition fees—ranging between £10,000 and £30,000 depending on the degree—as well as an extra £600 a month in living expenses. Students are also required to have received their exam results before they apply, and must be issued with a biometric identity card.

If the proposals were executed effectively, this might all be very well. But, with reported problems with the computer programme and the UKBA taking six weeks to process an application, and having a further six week waiting list for a biometric appointment, the system leaves something to be desired.

A backlog in October of some 14,000 applications from Pakistan alone meant a late start for many international students, with several dropping out altogether. Having to defer your degree for a year, missing freshers' week, or simply being forced to pander to a deeply flawed and confusing system is not acceptable.

It is hardly surprising then when international students opt for Canadian or Australian universities instead. This is hugely detrimental to universities in the UK. The academic, cultural and financial contributions of international students to higher education are a major part of British universities' high standing in the world.

Not only does the UKBA's inefficiency affect and discourage international students, but it causes considerable disruption to universities themselves. International students are said to contribute around £8.5 billion to the British economy every year, and, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, provide more than 8 percent of the total income of British universities. Dominic Scott, chief executive for the UK Council for International Student Affairs, claims that without these funds "universities would have more departments closing, worse infrastructure, and less investment in libraries. At a time of huge financial pressure, it is the international student income that is enabling universities to invest, expand and survive."

Following the UKBA's unpalatable call on academics monitor the attendance of overseas students—supposedly to help combat terrorism—international students find themselves subject to an increasingly draconian system. Considering the public outrage over identity cards for British citizens, it is strange that holding the biometric details of international students on a database is not more controversial. The same arguments apply: the UKBA's system smacks of discrimination.

Rather than scrutinize individuals, the UKBA would do better to focus on educational institutions themselves. By monitoring them more carefully so as not to allow 'bogus' colleges to bring illegal immigrants to the UK, and by making universities responsible for the students they admit, international students would no longer be victimised, as is the case with the current system