lastlid
5th July 2012, 06:54
"The UK Border Agency has no "clear strategy" for dealing with a group of more than 150,000 foreign nationals staying on after visas expire, the borders and immigration inspector says.
John Vine said the group, typically foreign students, is growing in number.
His report warned that immigration officers did not know how many of those told to leave the UK had actually left.
Immigration minister Damian Green blamed the last government - but Labour said the report was damning.
The latest report from the inspector focuses on a previously unknown problem in the UKBA, concerning people from outside Europe who have deadlines to leave the UK.
Many of these people are students and if they do not leave when told to do so, they are added to the "migration refusal pool" (MRP).
'More pro-active'
"There are over 150,000 cases nationally of migrants who have been refused an extension of stay in the UK," said Mr Vine.
"The Agency does not know how many of these individuals have left the country or are waiting to be removed.
"I also saw no evidence that there is a clear plan in place for the Agency to deal with this stream of work to ensure this does not become another backlog.
"I believe it can and must do more to demonstrate it is dealing with this issue in a more proactive manner."
The report said the number of MRP cases had grown from 153,000 in October of last year to almost 160,000 by mid-December".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18715036
John Vine said the group, typically foreign students, is growing in number.
His report warned that immigration officers did not know how many of those told to leave the UK had actually left.
Immigration minister Damian Green blamed the last government - but Labour said the report was damning.
The latest report from the inspector focuses on a previously unknown problem in the UKBA, concerning people from outside Europe who have deadlines to leave the UK.
Many of these people are students and if they do not leave when told to do so, they are added to the "migration refusal pool" (MRP).
'More pro-active'
"There are over 150,000 cases nationally of migrants who have been refused an extension of stay in the UK," said Mr Vine.
"The Agency does not know how many of these individuals have left the country or are waiting to be removed.
"I also saw no evidence that there is a clear plan in place for the Agency to deal with this stream of work to ensure this does not become another backlog.
"I believe it can and must do more to demonstrate it is dealing with this issue in a more proactive manner."
The report said the number of MRP cases had grown from 153,000 in October of last year to almost 160,000 by mid-December".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18715036