You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

Visa applications should be relaxed for people who want to study in another country.

Do you agree or disagree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Write at least 250 words.

For many people interested in studying abroad, one of the first problems they face is obtaining a visa to enter the country and, in many situations, the procedure is time-consuming and frustrating. As a result, there is a clear case for making visa applications less stringent. However, there is also a potential for abuse of the system if made more lenient, and both of these options need to be considered.

In support of simplifying the visa application procedure, it must be remembered that obtaining a visa is one of the first steps towards studying in a foreign country. If this process is difficult then it can reflect poorly on the country the student is intending to go to. Moreover, once in the country, students often find it is less problematic to use the services of an immigration agent, to whom they surrender their passports and pay sometimes phenomenal sums of money. In the same way, this again reflects poorly on the host country.

Yet there is a point of view that suggests visa regulations should remain as they are, or even become stricter. It is inevitable that once a developed country opens it doors to students, there will be some who will exploit the opportunity without any intention of fulfilling the study requirements of their visa.

To conclude, perhaps the best solution would be to allow the schools, colleges and universities that attract international students to have greater control over those students that arrive in the country. This would allow the institutions themselves to police the students while being overseen by the Immigration Services itself.

(265 words)