Thousands of Romanians Suspected of Massive UK Student Loan Fraud

British officials have expressed concerns about the existence of an “organized group” specifically targeting Romanian citizens. Most of the students under scrutiny enrolled in so-called franchised universities – small colleges paid to deliver courses for established universities, often with lower admission requirements.

The investigation, which reviewed confidential financial documents and interviewed multiple sources within the Student Loans Company (SLC), the Department for Education (DfE), and the Office for Students (OfS), identified at least six franchised providers involved in fraudulent schemes.

In the 2022/23 academic year, SLC flagged 3,563 suspicious loan applications, totaling nearly £60 million. However, recent investigations suggest that the potential level of fraud could reach hundreds of millions of pounds. SLC has detected suspicious applications involving forged documents and duplicate addresses.

Recently disclosed government figures reveal an alarming increase in the number of Romanian citizens applying for student loans: from 5,000 in 2015-16 to 84,000 in 2023-24, suggesting that 15% of the Romanian population in the UK received a student loan last year. In the current academic year, 71,000 Romanians have applied for student loans, compared to 19,000 Polish citizens, 16,000 Italians, and 12,000 Portuguese.

Franchised colleges are accused of enrolling students who do not speak English well or accepting screenshots of Duolingo tests as proof of language proficiency. At some universities with franchised providers, between 35 and 55% of applicants were Romanian last year.

Another fraudulent pattern identified involves students dropping out of courses after receiving their first £4,000 maintenance loan, then re-enrolling the following year to claim the money again. One franchised college recorded revenues of £234m last year and increased its profits by 1,266% in three years.

In response to the revelations, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said they “pointed to one of the biggest financial scandals in the history of the British higher education sector” and announced that the Public Sector Fraud Authority would investigate suspected exploitation of the student loan system.

Total UK student loan debt, guaranteed by taxpayers, has risen to £236 billion and is expected to reach £500 billion by the 2040s.