'Demanding' visa procedures endangering English language industry – Feltom

While the English learning industry continues to grow, Feltom has argued that cross border travel needs to be constantly supported by effective visa policies that are less bureaucratic so as not to hinder the competitivity and further growth of this industry.

“One of the main challenges that FELTOM is having to face every year is the not so straightforward and sometimes very demanding procedures to help visiting foreign learners obtain their necessary visas and temporary residence permits to study English in Malta. If this situation persists, our industry and our schools are going to suffer,”states Genevieve Abela, CEO of  the Federation of English Language Teaching Organisations (FELTOM) said.

An article just published by Study Travel Magazine, a monthly B2B publication that reaches 29,400 agent readers in 127 countries, confirms how in the UK, a very stringent visa policy has deterred international business students and caused an 8.6 per cent decline in non-EU intake last year.

The report, UK Business Schools and International Student Recruitment: Trends, challenges and the case for change, explains how the number of first-year non-EU students on business and administration programmes in the UK declined 8.6 per cent to 60,190, the lowest level since 2009/10.

The overall number of non-EU students on business and administration degrees in fact fell by 4.2 per cent to 101,160, the smallest total in the last five years.

“FELTOM’s position has always been a consistent one with regards to the processing of Visas for foreign students,” Abela said.

“Our English language schools are operating in a very aggressive market. For Malta’s ELT industry to increase its competitiveness, the authorities need to realize that Visa processing has to be an enabler and not a hindering factor. And this report confirms what the consequences can be if this issue remains unaddressed.”