Of the 744 private colleges on the UK Border Agency Sponsor Register in January, only 131 had attained Highly Trusted Sponsor status.

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London Met had a special status as a "Highly Trusted Sponsor" (HTS).

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The UKBA based its decision to revoke the university's Tier 4 highly trusted sponsor status mainly on the examination of 101 sample cases.

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Yet, as of mid-January this year, the 613 private colleges who are not Highly Trusted have been able to sponsor 280, 000 students between them.

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Since last year, all institutions which want to sponsor non-European Union students for a visa must be accredited as "highly trusted".

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In order to sponsor overseas students, any institution must qualify for the UK Border Agency's "Highly Trusted Status".

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