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Summary Hundreds of foreign students have queue outdoors through the night to register with UK police.
International students from 42 countries living in Greater London are required to register within seven days at a single office in south-east London.The volume of students and a staff cut appear to be creating very long waits.The Metropolitan Police said it had extended the opening hours.But a message on the website of the Overseas Visitors Records Office says students are starting to queue from midnight, even though the office does not open until the morning.It continues: In the interest of health and safety we would kindly request that you do not start queuing at this time as it forces us to close our queues as early as 6.30am.The website also warns there will be occasions when the office has to close at very short notice.Universities UK said it had raised the matter at the highest level with the Universities Minister David Willetts.It said similar issues arose every year but that it seemed to be particularly bad this year in London, where a third of the UKs 100,000 foreign students come to study.The revelation comes after concerns about damage to the UKs reputation with potential students abroad after a London university had its licence to recruit and teach international students revoked.Daniel Stevens, international students officer for the National Union of Students, filmed the queue in the early hours of the morning and sent the video to the BBC News website to highlight the issue.He said that some time before the office opens a member of staff comes out and starts counting the queue, letting some people in.Then much of the rest of the queue is turned away, only to return the next night for more of the same.Mr Stevens said: The students who are queuing there are outraged that they are having to do this.A spokeswoman for the Home Office said the way the UK Border Agency requirement to register overseas students is implemented is a matter for the local police.The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: There have been lengthy queues recently at the Overseas Visitors Record Office at Brandon House, 180 Borough High Street, SE1.It said the office was now opening an hour and a half earlier than usual, at 07.30 BST, to cope with demand.University and College Union general secretary Sally Hunt said such poor arrangements were damaging Britains international reputation.Chief executive of Universities UK Nicola Dandridge said she had written to ministers about this seeking an urgent solution to the problem.
