Viking Supporters Co-operative

Viking Chat => Off Topic => Topic started by: BillyStubbsTears on May 23, 2023, 10:05:39 pm

Title: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: BillyStubbsTears on May 23, 2023, 10:05:39 pm
If it wasn't obvious that this Government has totally run out of ideas and should be out out of its misery, the ruling today on visas for foreign students' families is a perfect example.

Higher education is a massive export market for the UK. We have some of the world's best universities and there are many people around the world who want to benefit from the education they can give.

They pay very high fees. And they come here and spend money in our economy.

Govt estimates this brings us £18bn per year (guess what - that's £350m/week).

If those students bring their families, they are spending even more money in the UK economy. They are mostly living in thriving cities, where there is a general acceptance of other cultures. And these are the brightest and best of their countries' next generation. They are the ones we want to think favourably of Britain when making future business decisions.

So what does this Govt do? Shits itself that the numbers of "immigrants" looks too high, and bans a whole swathe of foreign students' family members from joining them in the UK while they study.

Just so they can reduce a number that is totally unimportant.

That's now risking undermining the attractiveness of the UK as a place for foreigners to study.

What are they going to do next? Stop tourists coming in?

Count down the days till this lqot gets booted out.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: Sprotyrover on May 23, 2023, 10:57:23 pm
Hmm BBC News at Ten tonight ran a different drift, seems it’s a back door ticket to a new life in(Despite what most posters on here say) is a fabulously wealthy land of milk and honey!
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: BillyStubbsTears on May 23, 2023, 11:58:40 pm
I watched that Sproty. Awful journalism. Two people interviewed out of the hundreds of thousands of foreign students is not remotely credible evidence.

Still, you got a Like from Hound, so that's nice.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: Sprotyrover on May 24, 2023, 11:54:58 am
I watched that Sproty. Awful journalism. Two people interviewed out of the hundreds of thousands of foreign students is not remotely credible evidence.

Still, you got a Like from Hound, so that's nice.
Two words Billy to sum up your reply “condescending Putdown’!
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: Glyn_Wigley on May 24, 2023, 12:37:42 pm
Hmm BBC News at Ten tonight ran a different drift, seems it’s a back door ticket to a new life in(Despite what most posters on here say) is a fabulously wealthy land of milk and honey!

I didn't see that last night, what numbers did they say were involved?
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: TonySoprano on May 24, 2023, 01:13:06 pm
England is far too overcrowded, the NHS can't cope, the roads can't cope, there's not enough houses, the electricity grid can't cope.

It's a no to back door and illegal immigration from me
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: big fat yorkshire pudding on May 24, 2023, 01:37:53 pm
In the year ending December 2022, 486,000 student visas were issued to applicants - up from 269,000 in 2019.

Last year, the number of student visas issued to dependants stood at 136,000 - an eightfold increase from 2019, when 16,000 were provided.

Why has that jumped so dramatically?  Is it a post Brexit thing?  If so that stat doesn't really compare like for like does it?

From personal experience I do remember a lot of foreign students with families over here at my university and it was always very difficult for the families to get work.  Most of them were living off rich parents back home, particulary those from the middle east and Asia.  I remember one we used to mock quite often, he didn't know how to do anything like wash his clothes as he had what he called "servants" back home.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: Glyn_Wigley on May 24, 2023, 03:24:35 pm
England is far too overcrowded, the NHS can't cope, the roads can't cope, there's not enough houses, the electricity grid can't cope.

It's a no to back door and illegal immigration from me

At what number of people does England become overcrowded and what number should we be attempting to keep it down to?
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: Sprotyrover on May 24, 2023, 04:26:13 pm
Well it’s clearly a back door, they come here todo a Masters so that takes 9 months , why do they need to ring their families? One issue for me is our Universities ? All they see is £ pound signs I would love to know what the degrees are in?
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: Glyn_Wigley on May 24, 2023, 06:44:03 pm
Well it’s clearly a back door, they come here todo a Masters so that takes 9 months , why do they need to ring their families? One issue for me is our Universities ? All they see is £ pound signs I would love to know what the degrees are in?

If it's that clear, what's the numbers?
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: drfchound on May 24, 2023, 08:29:38 pm
I watched that Sproty. Awful journalism. Two people interviewed out of the hundreds of thousands of foreign students is not remotely credible evidence.

Still, you got a Like from Hound, so that's nice.

I’ve told you before bst.
I click “like” on posts that I like.
Even if they are your posts.
So that’s nice too.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: drfchound on May 24, 2023, 08:33:03 pm
In the year ending December 2022, 486,000 student visas were issued to applicants - up from 269,000 in 2019.

Last year, the number of student visas issued to dependants stood at 136,000 - an eightfold increase from 2019, when 16,000 were provided.

Why has that jumped so dramatically?  Is it a post Brexit thing?  If so that stat doesn't really compare like for like does it?

From personal experience I do remember a lot of foreign students with families over here at my university and it was always very difficult for the families to get work.  Most of them were living off rich parents back home, particulary those from the middle east and Asia.  I remember one we used to mock quite often, he didn't know how to do anything like wash his clothes as he had what he called "servants" back home.

Someone close to me used to be a college lecturer.
She said that the start of the new college year always had plenty of new overseas students and some of them brought family with them.
Some of the new overseas students would never be seen again in college after the first few weeks.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: Sprotyrover on May 24, 2023, 11:44:17 pm
In the year ending December 2022, 486,000 student visas were issued to applicants - up from 269,000 in 2019.

Last year, the number of student visas issued to dependants stood at 136,000 - an eightfold increase from 2019, when 16,000 were provided.

Why has that jumped so dramatically?  Is it a post Brexit thing?  If so that stat doesn't really compare like for like does it?

From personal experience I do remember a lot of foreign students with families over here at my university and it was always very difficult for the families to get work.  Most of them were living off rich parents back home, particulary those from the middle east and Asia.  I remember one we used to mock quite often, he didn't know how to do anything like wash his clothes as he had what he called "servants" back home.

Someone close to me used to be a college lecturer.
She said that the start of the new college year always had plenty of new overseas students and some of them brought family with them.
Some of the new overseas students would never be seen again in college after the first few weeks.
Clearly the Government has got wise to it ,that’s why they are taking action.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: i_ateallthepies on May 25, 2023, 08:33:16 am
In the year ending December 2022, 486,000 student visas were issued to applicants - up from 269,000 in 2019.

Last year, the number of student visas issued to dependants stood at 136,000 - an eightfold increase from 2019, when 16,000 were provided.

Why has that jumped so dramatically?  Is it a post Brexit thing?  If so that stat doesn't really compare like for like does it?

From personal experience I do remember a lot of foreign students with families over here at my university and it was always very difficult for the families to get work.  Most of them were living off rich parents back home, particulary those from the middle east and Asia.  I remember one we used to mock quite often, he didn't know how to do anything like wash his clothes as he had what he called "servants" back home.

Someone close to me used to be a college lecturer.
She said that the start of the new college year always had plenty of new overseas students and some of them brought family with them.
Some of the new overseas students would never be seen again in college after the first few weeks.

And did she also mention, Hound, that the same happens with UK students also?
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: Bentley Bullet on May 25, 2023, 08:53:28 am
 
In the year ending December 2022, 486,000 student visas were issued to applicants - up from 269,000 in 2019.

Last year, the number of student visas issued to dependants stood at 136,000 - an eightfold increase from 2019, when 16,000 were provided.

Why has that jumped so dramatically?  Is it a post Brexit thing?  If so that stat doesn't really compare like for like does it?

From personal experience I do remember a lot of foreign students with families over here at my university and it was always very difficult for the families to get work.  Most of them were living off rich parents back home, particulary those from the middle east and Asia.  I remember one we used to mock quite often, he didn't know how to do anything like wash his clothes as he had what he called "servants" back home.

Someone close to me used to be a college lecturer.
She said that the start of the new college year always had plenty of new overseas students and some of them brought family with them.
Some of the new overseas students would never be seen again in college after the first few weeks.

And did she also mention, Hound, that the same happens with UK students also?
UK students who abuse the system are our problem, overseas students who abuse the system shouldn't be.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: big fat yorkshire pudding on May 25, 2023, 09:55:22 am
Interesting to see labour have agreed with this move.  I'm sure bst will say they've run out of ideas also then?
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: BillyStubbsTears on May 25, 2023, 10:24:47 am
Interesting to see labour have agreed with this move.  I'm sure bst will say they've run out of ideas also then?

Have you got a link to that. I haven't seen it.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: i_ateallthepies on May 25, 2023, 10:53:17 am
In the year ending December 2022, 486,000 student visas were issued to applicants - up from 269,000 in 2019.

Last year, the number of student visas issued to dependants stood at 136,000 - an eightfold increase from 2019, when 16,000 were provided.

Why has that jumped so dramatically?  Is it a post Brexit thing?  If so that stat doesn't really compare like for like does it?

From personal experience I do remember a lot of foreign students with families over here at my university and it was always very difficult for the families to get work.  Most of them were living off rich parents back home, particulary those from the middle east and Asia.  I remember one we used to mock quite often, he didn't know how to do anything like wash his clothes as he had what he called "servants" back home.

Someone close to me used to be a college lecturer.
She said that the start of the new college year always had plenty of new overseas students and some of them brought family with them.
Some of the new overseas students would never be seen again in college after the first few weeks.

And did she also mention, Hound, that the same happens with UK students also?
UK students who abuse the system are our problem, overseas students who abuse the system shouldn't be.

I'm not accusing anyone of abusing the system BB, simply pointing out that dropping out of courses soon after commencement has always happened and it would be disingenuous to single out overseas students with families without acknowledging that the same happens with UK students and overseas students who don't bring their families.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: Bentley Bullet on May 25, 2023, 11:01:01 am
Pies, I'm sure everyone is aware that some UK students drop out of courses. I'm also sure everyone is aware that allowing overseas students to come over here and do the same only exacerbates the problem.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: Sprotyrover on May 25, 2023, 11:53:18 am
What’s the best option for an aspiring immigrant, pay £9k a head to some East European Gangsters for a very hazardous and mainly tedious Rubber Dinghy Ride, or £16 k to some third rate English University which gets you into the UK as snug as a bug in a rug?
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: BillyStubbsTears on May 25, 2023, 12:26:37 pm
What’s the best option for an aspiring immigrant, pay £9k a head to some East European Gangsters for a very hazardous and mainly tedious Rubber Dinghy Ride, or £16 k to some third rate English University which gets you into the UK as snug as a bug in a rug?

Yeah, because they do let just anyone onto university degree courses.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: Colin C No.3 on May 25, 2023, 01:14:12 pm
Acceptance rates at the following Uni’s:-

SOAS, Uni of London 90%

St Mary’s, Twickenham 91.5%

Uni of Sussex 92.2%

Aberystwyth 92.6%

Bishop Grosseteste Uni 93%

Uni for the Creative Arts 94.5%

Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: big fat yorkshire pudding on May 25, 2023, 02:44:16 pm
Interesting to see labour have agreed with this move.  I'm sure bst will say they've run out of ideas also then?

Have you got a link to that. I haven't seen it.

I saw it pop up on twitter so have had to look for it.  Found it at the below link from parliament.  I'm quite surprised how tough labour appear to want to be on immigration.

https://twitter.com/jrc1921/status/1661482036778135552?t=tnWL8rIWsrn0b7TET8C6ng&s=19
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: Sprotyrover on May 25, 2023, 04:24:02 pm
Interesting to see labour have agreed with this move.  I'm sure bst will say they've run out of ideas also then?

Have you got a link to that. I haven't seen it.

I saw it pop up on twitter so have had to look for it.  Found it at the below link from parliament.  I'm quite surprised how tough labour appear to want to be on immigration.

https://twitter.com/jrc1921/status/1661482036778135552?t=tnWL8rIWsrn0b7TET8C6ng&s=19
I can’t believe some of the replies on Twitter by I suspect Labour voters!
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: BillyStubbsTears on May 25, 2023, 04:57:09 pm
Interesting to see labour have agreed with this move.  I'm sure bst will say they've run out of ideas also then?

Have you got a link to that. I haven't seen it.

I saw it pop up on twitter so have had to look for it.  Found it at the below link from parliament.  I'm quite surprised how tough labour appear to want to be on immigration.

https://twitter.com/jrc1921/status/1661482036778135552?t=tnWL8rIWsrn0b7TET8C6ng&s=19

Thanks BFYP.

That's a very, very bad call from Labour.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: i_ateallthepies on May 25, 2023, 06:35:03 pm
Pies, I'm sure everyone is aware that some UK students drop out of courses. I'm also sure everyone is aware that allowing overseas students to come over here and do the same only exacerbates the problem.

Exacerbates? it hasn't been considered a problem until now, now that it can be used as another stick to beat foreigners with.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: drfchound on May 25, 2023, 06:39:19 pm
In the year ending December 2022, 486,000 student visas were issued to applicants - up from 269,000 in 2019.

Last year, the number of student visas issued to dependants stood at 136,000 - an eightfold increase from 2019, when 16,000 were provided.

Why has that jumped so dramatically?  Is it a post Brexit thing?  If so that stat doesn't really compare like for like does it?

From personal experience I do remember a lot of foreign students with families over here at my university and it was always very difficult for the families to get work.  Most of them were living off rich parents back home, particulary those from the middle east and Asia.  I remember one we used to mock quite often, he didn't know how to do anything like wash his clothes as he had what he called "servants" back home.

Someone close to me used to be a college lecturer.
She said that the start of the new college year always had plenty of new overseas students and some of them brought family with them.
Some of the new overseas students would never be seen again in college after the first few weeks.

And did she also mention, Hound, that the same happens with UK students also?

Pies, after your post above I waited until I could ask her about that.
She said that it was much more likely for the foreign students to disappear from courses than for home based students.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: Bentley Bullet on May 25, 2023, 06:53:47 pm
Pies, I'm sure everyone is aware that some UK students drop out of courses. I'm also sure everyone is aware that allowing overseas students to come over here and do the same only exacerbates the problem.

Exacerbates? it hasn't been considered a problem until now, now that it can be used as another stick to beat foreigners with.
Yes it has, it's just that no one has done anything about it until now!
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: BillyStubbsTears on May 25, 2023, 07:00:17 pm
How on earth did this transition into a discussion about students vanishing?
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: big fat yorkshire pudding on May 25, 2023, 08:33:44 pm
Interesting to see labour have agreed with this move.  I'm sure bst will say they've run out of ideas also then?

Have you got a link to that. I haven't seen it.

I saw it pop up on twitter so have had to look for it.  Found it at the below link from parliament.  I'm quite surprised how tough labour appear to want to be on immigration.

https://twitter.com/jrc1921/status/1661482036778135552?t=tnWL8rIWsrn0b7TET8C6ng&s=19

Thanks BFYP.

That's a very, very bad call from Labour.

I'm torn, I see your original point in a way but I'm not convinced it should be an open door for students plus families.

Politically labour probably has more to gain from the move than objecting it.  But I don't see how minimising immigration aligns with some of the other things they have said and this is a problem with labour strategy a little, it feels a bit disjointed and contradictory at times.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: danumdon on May 25, 2023, 09:18:41 pm
Interesting to see labour have agreed with this move.  I'm sure bst will say they've run out of ideas also then?

Have you got a link to that. I haven't seen it.

I saw it pop up on twitter so have had to look for it.  Found it at the below link from parliament.  I'm quite surprised how tough labour appear to want to be on immigration.

https://twitter.com/jrc1921/status/1661482036778135552?t=tnWL8rIWsrn0b7TET8C6ng&s=19

Thanks BFYP.

That's a very, very bad call from Labour.

I'm torn, I see your original point in a way but I'm not convinced it should be an open door for students plus families.

Politically labour probably has more to gain from the move than objecting it.  But I don't see how minimising immigration aligns with some of the other things they have said and this is a problem with labour strategy a little, it feels a bit disjointed and contradictory at times.

Sounds a bit more like trying to out Tory the Tories every day. You know the more i hear from The leadership and the front bench the more i think they really are just making it up as they go along.

Why would you try to "out do" a Tory party that has demonstrated for long enough that they are clean out of policies that will or would have a bearing on improving the lot of your average Brit, never mind overseas students.

Just what kind of people now run the Labour Party policy development unit? it now looks like its got to the point where they don't even need to treat the populace with any aspirational or radical policies because of the state of the current political climate.

Does anyone have one iota of a clue what they are likely to present to the nation if they take control?
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: BillyStubbsTears on May 25, 2023, 09:59:12 pm
The problem Labour has is that the one and only way they get to lose next year is if the Tory's can hit them with "Remember how much Corbyn 'hated England'? Starmer is as bad."

I put 'hated England' in quotes because this is a brilliantly effective political trap.

Any truly honest person would accept that there are aspects of their national character and history to be proud of, and others not to be proud of. But the Right does a job of equating ANY criticism of country as treachery and hating of the country. Corbyn was too wrapped up in his own brand of politics to even understand that. So he dived into the trap at every opportunity (would he kneel before the Queen, would he trust our security services word over Putin's on the Skripal attack, would he criticise Putin in Syria when it might divert attention from what Britain had done in Iraq, etc etc).

By the time he'd finished, Corbyn was dead easy to brand as a hater of England.

Starmer's been absolutely determined not to fall into those traps. The argument is that, on a topic where the Right and the Right wing press dominate the agenda (immigrants are bad, therefore anyone who supports immigrants is an enemy of England) it's impossible to have a nuanced debate. So Labour has to be seen to be hard on the subject, in order to shut it down as a potential Tory attack line.

Do I like that. Absolutely not. But genuinely, what is the alternative?
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: Sprotyrover on May 25, 2023, 10:28:10 pm
I said it before Labour do not want to be the next Government, they are very good at spending other people’s money and there are no Tory piggy banks left to plunder, plus they will find our Credit is maxed out.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: BillyStubbsTears on May 25, 2023, 10:37:12 pm
I said it before Labour do not want to be the next Government, they are very good at spending other people’s money and there are no Tory piggy banks left to plunder, plus they will find our Credit is maxed out.

All of which shows how little you know of either politics or economics. Just trotting out tired, right wing lines that were never true even when they were fresh.
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: Sprotyrover on May 26, 2023, 07:33:12 pm
The current crowd on the Labour front bench would do well on the 70’s show the Comedians
Title: Re: Foreign students' fsmilies
Post by: BillyStubbsTears on May 26, 2023, 08:14:37 pm
Goodness, is that the time?