Thousands of illegal immigrants may have entered the UK on visas obtained through bogus colleges, a government-appointed committee has said, expressing concern over the whereabouts of those who have already entered the country on such permits.
The home affairs select committee in a report said there could be up to 2,200 colleges that were not legitimate but were accredited by the government under a system operating until March this year.
The number represents the difference between those on the previous Register of Education Providers and those on the new, more stringent, Register of Sponsors.
The committee said "firm enforcement action must be taken against any individual whose student visa has expired to ensure that they leave the country, as well as against those who have set up bogus colleges to perpetrate visa fraud."
Keith Vaz, chairman of the Committee said the government must stop the use of the word "college" by "any premises above a fish and chip shop" that wants to claim it is a reputable educational establishment.
The report found "no substantial" evidence that colleges had been used as a cover by terrorists, although seven men who entered on student visas remain in immigration custody, accused of being "members of a UK-based network linked to Al-Qaida."
"The government has been aware of their existence for 10 years and done nothing to stop them. This is totally unacceptable and, frankly, quite unbelievable," Vaz said.
Bogus colleges were also "highly damaging to the UK's international reputation for education and therefore the UK economy," the report said.
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