Sign up for language lessons, get an EU visa

Updated at 7.55pm: adds ELT statement English language schools are being seen as a gateway to the European Union for non-EU students who often get their hands on visas without going on to attend a single class, The Sunday Times of Malta has learnt. “We do receive reports about this, in fact I am certain that if we were to check every language school in Malta we would find that this has been happening at nearly all of them,” a senior police investigator said.  “It is something that we are aware of but it is very difficult to take action against.” Malta has dozens of English language schools, which are a major contributor to the tourism sector. Another police source said: “Some of these people probably never set foot in a classroom and head straight to the airport with their visa and into the EU.” The issue was flagged after The Sunday Times of Malta learnt that a whistleblower had reported an alleged racket involving an English language school and a suspicious middleman to the police last month. According to the whistleblower, who spoke to this newspaper on the condition of anonymity, the racket, which began in 2014, saw the school team up with the middleman to funnel...