By Michael Caber

THE British Embassy will restrict the number of student visa applications it will process daily because it is clogged with 47,000 applications, many filed by Filipino nurses taking advantage of the National Vocation Qualification program.

The UK Border Agency International Group said the number of applicants represents an increase of 22 percent compared to 2007 and embassy officials said they are limiting the number of applications processed daily to make it more manageable.

Oya Arriola, UK Embassy communication officer, said yesterday that “at the moment, we are processing 10 NVQ applications a day and still subject to review.”

Most Filipino nurses are opting to take health-care courses in the United Kingdom and apply for NVQ visas to get jobs as professionals in the field in the UK.

“In accordance with this decision, instructions have been given to our commercial partner, VFS, who operates the Manila Visa Application Center, to put these restrictions into immediate effect,” the UK advisory said.

Meanwhile, Philip Leonard, chairman of the recruitment consultancy firm International Student Advisors Corp., said starting April, the British Embassy would implement a point-based system for nurses and health-care professionals wanting to work in the UK.

Leonard said that nurses will focus on getting higher education degrees, particularly the Degrees on International Nursing or Social and Health Care over the Further Education Course such as the NVQ.

“Together, the restriction on NVQ visa applications and the point-based system would slow down the process of getting nursing jobs in the UK,” Leonard said.

“You will need to gain the 40 points under the new system, 30 of these points will come from your UK education provider, who must be registered and approved for Tier 4,” he said.