A couple of weeks ago I received an email from the registry sent to all Tier 4 visa holders (read: all [non EU] international students) outlining the implementation of new requirements for the visa. I skimmed the first few lines, quickly got bored and forgot about the email. A week later, I took another shot at tacking points 1 through 6.2. What I found, buried deep amongst the phrases ‘UKBA statutory requirements’ this and ‘Highly Trusted Sponsor status’ that, was a whole new set of hoops for international students to jump through - or else be kicked out of the university and ultimately the country.

Last year, the UK Home Office made some fundamental changes to the conditions of the visa, and those of us who have managed to wade through the endless red tape in order to acquire it are now starting to notice the difference, in the form of a so-called "census".

So, what does this entail? No-holds-barred monitoring. Our attendance must be recorded (lectures, tutorials, what have you), and schools must report students who have missed ‘ten contact points’. In addition, Tier 4 students must report to a designated place and time each semester on the off-chance that class attendance sheets weren’t adequate in showing that we do, in fact, exist and turn up to class, and even study and hand in assessments. The email reads like a taunting from the school bully – “You think you deserve to be here? Prove it. Again.”

It’s no secret that the UK Home Office are trying to discourage the intake of foreign students. In December last year they were inundated with emails and phone calls after their blatantly xenophobic tweet: “Contribute your views to our consultation into how we can best reduce the number of students who come to the UK”.

The international students that do eventually make it here can’t expect any decisions to be made with them in mind. Pollock Halls charge extra for students to stay over the Easter break,  justified under the assumption that the students that can afford to stay will, and the ones that can’t will suffer a day of inconvenience packing up their stuff and going home to their parents. International students? Tough. You have to pay. And of course you can afford to, as you already pay £13,000 a year and what’s a few extra (hundred) quid?

It seems that in every respect there is a case of double standards where international students are concerned. Home students’ fees are constant from the year they commence their studies because it is considered unfair to increase them after students have planned for the original figure. This claim apparently holds no water for international students – my fees were raised significantly this year with no warning, and I am told to expect this to happen every year. What reaction would there be if the university decided that all home students, current and new, would have to pay £9000 as of next academic year?

I can’t help but get the impression that these new regulations and constant check-ins with the university and visa authorities are meant to remind us that we’re forever skating on thin ice. Put just one toe out of line and it’s a one-way ticket home. It’s no wonder that international students just shut up and take it .

In light of recent attacks on students by the ConDem government it is understandable that student activists have had their hands full. However, I feel it is time for international students to make a good, proper fuss, and that home students should (and I believe would) stand side by side with us in our struggle just as we have with theirs.
We worked hard to obtain the right grades and to chase up references and paperwork. We attended interviews and had our pictures and fingerprints taken. We pay thirteen, fourteen or fifteen thousand pounds per year, upfront and are active in university events, in societies, in university life. What more do we need to do to prove we belong here?