AN urgent investigation was ordered last night amid fears Romanians and Bulgarians studying in the UK may be illegally raking in millions of pounds a year in handouts. It was ordered after numbers of the Eastern European students applying for taxpayer-backed maintenance grants and loans surged. Some 5,500 Bulgarians and Romanians, about 0.5 per cent of the total student population, are now being told to provide proof they have lived in Britain the required three years before receiving any more cash. If each got the maximum £3,354 grant for this year – rising next year to £3,387 – it would total £18.5million. In addition, the students are allowed to apply for an annual maintenance loan of up to £7,675, plus the annual tuition fee of £9,000. Universities Minister David Willetts said: “We identified a significant increase in the number of Bulgarian and Romanian students applying for full student support in England this year. “We have asked each of these students to supply additional information.” The moves came as calls were made for Britain to maintain limits on Bulgarian and Romanian immigration for another five years instead of lifting them on January 1. Conservative MP Nigel Mills told a Commons committee there were widespread fears of the impact of a new wave of migration on jobs, wages, housing and public services. Britain, he said, could mount a strong argument for keeping controls as our labour market is still way behind its pre-2008 recession performance.
Posted on: Wed, 20 Nov 2013 08:10:13 +0000
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