BSA & BAISIS – Visa and immigration summer term conference

---

• Date: May 20, 2025
• Time: 09:30 -16:15
• Cost: BAISIS/BSA member – £235, BAISIS/BSA Member additional attendee – £110, Non-member – £470
• Audience: Boarding staff, Heads of Boarding, Deputy Head (Pastoral)
• Platform: Zoom (online) – conference

---

Course Outline:

The BSA and BAISIS summer term visa and immigration conference enables delegates to hear directly from experts on the latest in visas and immigration relevant to the education sector. The summer term update addresses key issues from members at a crucial time of year for international student recruitment and sponsor management.

The BSA and BAISIS team will facilitate questions directly from members to our experts throughout the day, including Home Office representatives. Delegates are encouraged to come with questions prepared and are welcome to send any questions in advance via bsa@boarding.org.uk to ensure they are answered during the conference.

Training topics will include:

• Key sector issues relating to visas and immigration
• Maintaining sponsor license compliance
• Sponsor duties including managing the SMS, CAS allocations, your BCA and monitoring, reporting and record-keeping.

BOOK NOW

---

Programme:

09:30 – 09:45

Welcome and update: immigration state of the nation

A review of where we are now as a sector and what’s to come.

• Speaker: Kate Hollyer, Executive Director (Legal), BSA Group

09:45 – 10:30

International student risks – fraud and scams

This session will hear how different fraud and scam methods can impact international students, and how different cultural responses can impact the likelihood to report and ask for help.

• Speaker: Damien Cranny, Fraud Protect Office, Dorset Police (BH)

10:30 – 10:45

Break

10:45 – 11:30

Educational guardianship: what’s on the horizon

This session will look at the latest developments in guardianship and will anticipate what the future will bring. It will include an outline of recent schemes developed by the BSA to support both schools and individual guardians. The panel of currently practicing guardians will then consider recent changes they have observed and consider what is on the horizon for the sector.

11:30 – 11:45

Break

11:45 – 12:30

UK immigration digitisation update

This session will look at the UK’s transition to a digital immigration system: new processes to stay live to, implementation progress, common concerns we are hearing for schools and students and solutions.

• Chair: Leigh Steer, Immigration Executive, BSA Group
• Speaker: Kate Hollyer, Executive Director (Legal), BSA Group

12:30 – 13:30

Lunch

13:30 – 14:30

Home Office: Policy and Operations update

Hear from representatives of the Home Office Study Operations and Student Policy departments about the Child Student / Student visa routes and future developments, plus pose your questions to the team – an unmissable session!

• Chair: Kate Hollyer, Executive Director (Legal), BSA Group

14:30 – 14:45

Break

14:45 – 15:45

Legal update: UKVI compliance and Educational Oversight

An overview of compliance trends and areas of focus from leading immigration expert

• Chair: Beth Hudson, Director, BAISIS
• Speaker: Hazar El-Chamaa, Immigration Partner, Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP and Chair, ILPA

15:45 – 16:15

In conversation with immigration experts

Put your questions to the legal panel and hear a round-up of the day.

• Chair: Beth Hudson, Director, BAISIS
• Speaker: Kate Hollyer, Director (Legal), BSA Group
• Speaker: Hazar El-Chamaa, Immigration Partner, Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP and Chair, ILPA

16:15

Conference close

---

Speakers:

Kate Hollyer, Executive Director (Legal), BSA Group

Kate is Executive Director (Legal) of BSA Group. As a qualified solicitor of England and Wales with more than 12 years’ experience advising clients on UK immigration and nationality law, Kate supports members with all UK immigration matters including UKVI sponsor licence compliance. Kate is a member of the Home Office Education Advisory Group and is the boarding sector representative for this group. Prior to joining BSA in 2022 Kate was Partner and Head of Department at a leading full-service UK law firm. Having resided in state, preparatory and senior school boarding houses since 2014 with her Housemaster husband, Kate has a unique perspective of boarding life.

---

Hazar El-Chamaa, Immigration Partner, Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP 

Hazar has over eight years’ immigration experience and has been advising education providers on all aspects of compliance, restructuring and business strategies since the inception of Tier 4. Her experience also includes advising on appeals, judicial review applications and challenges to Home Office decisions which affect sponsors. Hazar is a frequent speaker on immigration law and gives training on sponsor compliance and prevention of illegal working. She is an elected executive committee member of ILPA (Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association) and has been recommended by the Chambers Guide to the UK Legal Profession. Penningtons is recognised as a key link between the Home Office and educational institutions in the process of implementing and working through PBS reform.

---

Damien Cranny, Fraud Protect Office, Dorset Police (BH)