University of Glasgow warned over foreign student sponsor breach

The audit was carried out by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), which is part of the Home Office.

Institutions that want to host foreign students – a vital part of university finances in Scotland – have to comply with sponsorship duties, external.

These duties include doing everything possible to ensure students are genuine, that they comply with immigration rules and see their courses through to the end.

If there is a breach of these conditions, UKVI will examine the circumstances and decide what action is appropriate.

A serious breach, one that “constitutes a serious threat to immigration control” for instance, could result in the university losing its sponsor licence.

Unison’s Kirsteen Fraser said the union hoped that the impact of the situation on students will be an “absolute minimum”.

She said the union had faith that staff would be able to resolve problems.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is essential that sponsoring institutions comply with their sponsorship duties to avoid abuse of the system.”