TORBAY'S language schools fear border controls designed to stop terrorists using bogus colleges could rob the area of hundreds of thousands of pounds of business.

Bay MP Adrian Sanders is to take up the case of the schools who say their students have been refused visas to travel to Torbay by British Embassies outside Europe.

Judith Hands, director of Torquay International School in St Marychurch Road, Torquay, estimates the Bay could lose up to £1million a year.

And Dean Jones (pictured), general manager of LAL Torbay in Paignton, predicted they stand to lose £100,000 if the complications of the new visa system continue.

Ms Hands said TIS could lose £72,000 in tuition turnover next year, and the accommodation for those students could be worth £39,000 to their hosts.

"We have already lost eight weeks of bookings from Venezuela," she said. "We are all suffering the same problems with the UK Border Agency.

"The changes have been made in response to a number of things including terrorism, illegal immigration and the fact too many students are coming over here and 'disappearing'.

"It was needed as there are visa factories with bogus students, bogus companies and bogus colleges. But it is being mishandled and affecting genuine students."

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: "Foreign students play a huge part in the UK's cultural and economic wealth and help make our country's education sector one of the finest in the world.

"However, not everyone who comes here claiming they want to study is a genuine student and not every organisation which sets itself up as a college really wants to teach.

"We've worked closely with the education sector to devise the new points-based system for immigration.

"This means Britain can continue to recruit good students from outside Europe while stopping those who seek to damage our reputation."

Ms Hands said recent changes to the visa system were in many ways welcome and overdue.

"We understand the abuses they were designed to eliminate and are sympathetic to many of the objectives. We are all aware of bogus colleges and organisations which are getting people into the country who shouldn't be," she said. "However, the new rules are causing our sector really serious damage."

She said the new rules did not take into account the needs of Britain's thriving language school industry, and there was confusion with interpretation of the rules changing from one embassy to another.

"Many people have more or less given up the UK as a study destination, ordinary people who pose no threat to our country at any level and who were, until recently, keen to study here and spend their money in our economy are now turning to the USA, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and even Malta."

She said it was now considerably easier and much cheaper to obtain a study visa to those countries.

TIS attracts a large number of business and professional clients who come from well-known companies, development agencies and some from Governments.

"We have about 1,000 students on our courses each year aged from 14 to 80, and employ 30 to 35 staff," she said.

"The Border Agency is stopping genuine English language students coming to our schools, to further education and to universities."

As well as the cost of tuition fees and accommodation, students spend on average £100 to £200 a week in the local economy in shops, cafes and restaurants.

With the worldwide recession and the potential of swine flu to disrupt international travel, Ms Hands said: "The last thing we need is for our own side to put the boot in too."

Mr Jones said LAL stands to lose £100,000 if the complications and misinterpretation of the new visa system continue.

They could lose up to 40 students from places like Saudi Arabia, Libya, Quatar, Japan, Korea, he feared.

Those mature students could be staying between a few weeks and six months. Two Korean students have already cancelled.

"The problem is this is losing us goodwill from the agents who are finding it much easier to send students to places like Australia, and having done that this year will undoubtedly continue to do so in future."

Martin Lemon, of WEL Torquay school in Castle Road, Torquay, said they stand to lose more than £100,000 in tuition fees and up to £60,000 in accommodation costs.

"It is also taking us extra time to contest decision on visas initially denied on unreasonable grounds," he said.

"Russian groups are proving very difficult to process this summer. One of our Japanese agents has been led to understand his students will now need to obtain visas to enter the UK. They don't. The seeds of doubt are planted by ill-explained rules."

Adrian Sanders said: "Every time the national newspapers run a story about someone who shouldn't be in this country, the Government seems to panic and tighten up the rules. We are now people turning genuine people away who are going to other countries. It's a massive market and Torbay is really well placed to take advantage of it."

Following raids in Manchester last month, it was found two Liverpool university students had certificates from a bogus college. They were among 12 men arrested on suspicion of terrorism offences. Eight men allegedly enrolled in a college which had 1,797 students but only three teachers.