Student Visas & Uncovered evidence

Blowing the whistle

It’s an open fact that many students from India have used fraud documentation which have passed through the admission and visa systems and are enrolled in institutes all around the world. Fake degrees, fake financial support documents and work reference letters have been heavily used. A few also have bogus or fake test scores.

It’s also observed that student visa is used to get into a cash rich economy and work. Again and again in the past many years I have seen many countries like Australia, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand having  experienced such high fraud reacting to it by clamping down with some strict temporary regulations. But closing all corners is not possible and it still continues

I have been an international education consultant and been observing this market from the past 18 years. The purpose of writing all this is to address the common risks in international student recruitment arena.  The entire essay is not to exhaustive the level of fraud or corruption in the international education sector but aimed at raising awareness among various stake holders.Thanks to all the inputs from a few students and other fellow colleagues by which I got good idea of the happenings.  

All public sector agencies (government departments) in New Zealand, Canada, Australia, UK, USA or any others would like to maintain high standards of ethics. For all of them dealing with scams is all about risk management and integrity.  All of them have different policies and protocols in place to combat fraud and corruption whenever it’s found.  In addition to this most universities also established processes for risk management and identification of fraud.

As universities become more business oriented and commercial, such instances of fraud is increased. Most universities work with agents (or representatives) all around the world. Agents are very important as they are the first point of contact for majority students and guide the student with the correct protocols which include career counseling, course selection, student follow up, guiding with visa procedures, pre-departure briefing etc .  Agents are fully supported by the international offices by various means which include training, familiarization trips to universities, broachers, intuitional visits etc. The Australian government further makes institutes responsible for ensuring that agents preserve the reputation of Australian education system and trustworthiness.

Who creates these “SCAMS”?

Most agents have the interest of students in mind and work honestly; however the “tight regulations and tougher screening” plus “easy money” can sometimes be blamed for opening doors to such scams. It’s often a “economic decision” for student who dares to submit such fraud credentials that he has not earned. This economic decision can be because of many reasons like tough competition in jobs in India, dollar dream, society reputation and image and many other such excuses. 

 Like any other field there are also “unethical or rouge” agents everywhere. Now let’s now focus on the various kinds of fraud in the market:  

Academic Fraud: Using fake certificates or degrees is a serious problem all over. This can include using of false education documents. Verifying the autheicity for various qualifications in India is a night mare and not possible in many cases.  Fake, bogus or manipulated certificates do arounds and are available at cheap costs and quite identical to the original (real) certificates. One can buy such fake degrees from the most reputable institutes of India for peanuts.

In some cases the degrees are real and number of fails (backlogs) in the year wise memos is edited to meet the entry requirement and this is termed as a common practice in certain parts of India.

Fake Academics is not only an major issue in India but a global problem today

Identity Fraud: Using fake names or other person’s credentials has been deducted a number of times with a few applications. People using other persons name, education documents and obtaining a passport and then applying for visa. There are agents everywhere in all cities promising a passport with in no time, some also open bank account with a new address for the address proof, get a PAN card and also drivers license.

(Note: The Adhar card necessity in India may put an end to this in future)

Such students who use such fake identity and manage to get the visa can be called as “Ghost students,” as such students fails to show up at their university or college at all. In such cases, the apparent motivation is often to work, as opposed to attending classes or studying abroad. .

Financial Fraud: The usage of falsified bank guarantee letters, bank statements, education loans sanction letters or fixed deposits is an ongoing issue and has been on the rise. Students, Agents and corrupt Indian bank officials all play a lead role here.

Fake Education Loans : This fraud is widespread. Falsefied education loan sanction letters are provided by the bank manager at a cost to the agents or students. The bank managers have their own middle men who act. In some cases the bank managers want to help these students who have no finances and on the letter head type and give a loan letter and verify this too.

Bank Statements / Fixed deposits: Funds are shown in bank account and generally these are recent deposits often put in by other individuals in return of small interest. Generally 2% of the deposit amount if charged from the student 

The reason for this fraud to be successful is because it relies on the corrupt bank manager.Other financial documents relating to gold loans, property sale and agriculture income are commonly false or fake.

Misrepresentation via emails and local advertisements and websites: The email id of few individuals or agents I similar to the institutes email id and name. This one case where a student got a email that he can visit XXX agency to meet them on a certain date. The email claimed that representatives from YYY university would be there and this student can meet and discuss all details with them. In reality the XXX agency is not an agent or representative of YYY university and was sending emails to hundreds of students about this.

In other cases it’s found that the local agent is using the logo downloaded from the internet and advertising about spot admissions and assessments by the university staff. Again in reality this agent has no agreement with any institute nor he represented the university he advertised.

One other agency created website using information and logos of multiple universities by downloading logos from the internet which created an impression that this agent represented all those institutes. None of the universities has appointed him as their representative or agent. 

Money Theft: Some students fall prey to dodgy agents who take non-refundable upfront payment for all services, bias fees and overseas institute tuition fee. They promise all kinds of help to the students which in reality are not possible.

Package deals and money theft: A few agents charge a non-refundable upfront payment from students for all the services which include academic tampering, first semester fee payment, airport pick up in host country and accommodation support. They promise all kinds of goodies which in reality are not possible. It’s found that students with weak academic credentials, low English levels often fall a prey to such

Its saidf that most fraud is driven and enabled by agents, with the agreement of the student. 

But the other side of the coin, there are good ethical agencies too all over who guide students with correct protocols and this must be encouraged. 

There are, unfortunately, no easy solutions to combating fraud totally and eliminating it. Fraudsters are hard to prosecute and often getaway.

The Way Forward:

There is no easy solution or regulation to stop all this. In my opinion "self regulation" is the only solution, not only agents  but also universities and institutes need to self-regulate themselves. I have been a member of Association of Australian Education representatives in India (AAERI) and its aim is to assure integrity and credibility among agents recruiting for Australian Education institutes. There is a strict code of ethics to be followed and its members have agreed to be fair and honest in all their dealings with students and institutes. Such is the need of the hour

Another angel is prospective students must be warned about the consequence of using such fraud 

While Studying  Abroad is a common dream among Indian students. The total number of Indian students going abroad to pursue their higher education has been steadily increasing over the years

One of the main reasons why students from India want to go abroad is because they think that their future is outside India. They believe that by pursuing an undergraduate or post graduate course in a foreign country will help them to get a job there and eventually residence and pathway to the country’s citizenship. Settling down in USA, UK, Australia, Canada or New Zealand and some other such countries is very attractive to many. 

The tuition fee plus the living costs abroad is high. Most parents use their life time savings or take a loan mortgaging their assets to pay the fee and cover other costs. So the return on investments is important factor and its determined by options for post study work available or pathway to residence.

Nishidhar Reddy 
nishiborra888@gmail.com 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect on any one person or organisation in particular. It’s a gathering of opinions from author's own experience in the overseas education industry