In their article, Dr Katie Bales and Professor Bridget Anderson outline the challenges faced by asylum seekers wanting to access UK higher education, including exceptional students already holding scholarship offers or taking part in degree studies.

Aside from difficulties caused by factors such as a lack of funding for foundation courses to improve language skills, troubles with recognition of qualifications, as well as education histories often interrupted by displacement, any student considered to be an illegal resident in the UK can be removed from their course.

Universities are required to perform stringent right-to-study checks for, should they be found to have admitted students without the “right to study”, they risk losing their license to sponsor visas for international students.

The article describes the barriers this raises, preventing outstanding candidates access to the support offered by scholarship schemes set up by UK universities for refugee students, such as Bristol’s Sanctuary programme.

In January 2018 new right-to-study rules came into effect, implementing further restrictions on asylum seekers’ work or study opportunities, with the threat of criminal proceedings, fines and up to six months in prison should these new conditions be breached.

The article expresses concern over “the vague language in the Home Office’s guidance about how restrictions on right to study will be imposed on university applicants, potentially preventing them from starting a course”.

It concludes: “As a community of academics, administrators, service staff, managers and students, we must work together to reject these intrusive measures. We must campaign for an end to right-to-study checks, fight for those students negatively impacted and establish more scholarships for forced migrants.”

To read the full article click here.