Students who have applied for visas to study in the UK and who have already passed approved language tests could be barred from taking up their places at colleges or universities. This can happen if immigration officers judge that their English is not good enough. New powers granted to staff at visa offices around the world, which came into effect on 30 July. This is intended to add a new line of defence against bogus applicants, but students could be failed by staff who are not trained language assessors.