Today it was announced that Imperial College Union’s evidence submitted to the House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee has been accepted as evidence to the International STEM Students inquiry.

The Select Committee announced an inquiry into the effect of existing and proposed immigration legislation, including the Immigration Bill, on International Students. The Union’s evidence document focusses on the potential effects of the Immigration Bill on Imperial’s international students and the institution as a whole. The Bill proposes a fee for International Students to use the NHS, makes landlords liable for the immigration status of their tenants and changes the appeals procedure for visa applications. Union Council voted to stand against the Bill in January and the Union has been lobbying Lords associated with Imperial ever since – in fact, the existence of this inquiry is a direct result of these lobbying efforts.

The Union’s evidence document shows how the proposed changes in the Immigration Bill, taken in the context of sector-wide trends in International Students, could both directly affect the welfare of International Students and have implications for the sustainability of Imperial as an institution. The document is available to view here.

Although many universities, including Imperial College London, submitted evidence to the inquiry, Imperial College Union is one of only two Student Unions that submitted evidence. The full list of submitted evidence is available from the Parliament website: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/lords-committees/science-technology/IntlSTEMstudents/IntlSTEMstudentevidence.pdf