Warwick and SU hit out at international student NHS levy

Warwick University and the Students’ Union (SU) have expressed their concerns over government proposals to levy charges on international students for NHS treatment.

A £200 fee on top of visa costs is being considered for non-EU citizens who come to the UK for work or study for more than six months, regardless of whether they use NHS services or not.

University spokesperson Peter Dunn admitted the University is concerned about the effect these proposals might have on applications from international students to Warwick.

He said the combination of this with the recent plans to make visitors from ‘high risk’ countries, such as India and Pakistan, pay a £3,000 ‘security bond’ to enter the UK was a cause for concern.

On Wednesday Ken Sloane, registrar and chief operating officer, tweeted:

Can the government think of anything else to deter overseas students? Visa interviews, health screening, now health charges. @bisgovuk

— Ken Sloan (@Warwick__Sloan) July 3, 2013

Ben Sundell, welfare officer and incoming president at the SU, said the measure was unfair on international students.

“They are already penalised, having to pay much higher fees and often their accommodation rents upfront,” he said.

“I think it is really wrong that they should be charged for using the NHS when this is their home whilst they are studying. For the duration of their course they are citizens here and should be treated in the same way as home students.”

Speaking on the BBC’s Daily Politics show on Wednesday, Conservative Health Minister Dr David Poulter  defended the proposals and said: “Remember foreign students pay full tuition fees. They are already paying a lot of money, so it’s not going to be a deterrent to say that it’s an extra couple of hundred pounds…It’s absolutely not a barrier to students coming here.”

Final-year Economics, Politics and International Studies student Didem Fulya Cetin, from Turkey, said international students should not have to pay more on top of their already ‘exorbitant’ fees.

“If the level of service given by the NHS isn’t improved…then I don’t see why internationals should pay an annual fee for the NHS,” she said.

“International students harbour many costs and responsibilities when coming to the UK – not least of which are the exorbitant fees they pay – and as such, shouldn’t be expected to pay any more major living expenses.”

However, Ben Craske disagrees. The third-year Comparative American Studies student who studied at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) this year, said the levy would be ‘peanuts’  compared to what he had to pay in the United States.

He said that instead of getting private insurance, he opted into UCSB’s scheme which charged him $459USD (around £301) per quarter. This got him coverage with the student health centre on campus.

“So basically I think a one off £200 annual fee isn’t actually that big of an ask,” he said.

The NHS celebrated its 65th anniversary on Friday. A poll by the Daily Mirror found that 72 per cent of people surveyed believed non-British citizens should have to pay for the NHS.