Similar to what happened in the US after the 9/11 attacks, the UK government has now decided to carry out security checks on foreign students going to Britain. The aim of this plan is to prevent sensitive knowledge from getting into the wrong hands.

Not surprisingly, some people are wary of this scheme, as they feel that it may deny opportunities for genuine students with no aim other than pursuing a scientific career. Others have expressed concerns about the loss of income from students whose countries pick up the tuition tab. And many more are simply concerned about the extra paperwork that both host institutions and prospective students will have to contend with.

I don’t know if the equivalent scheme in the US has been considered a success. I’m not even sure how one would measure its success. Sure, they may have caught a few malicious guys, but how many ‘false positives’ have been the victims of this paranoia? The one thing most people seem to agree on is the observation that, after prospective US students got hit by the extra security checks, many simply chose an alternative destination. As a result, some observers worry that the balance of scientific power will shift away from the US. Will a similar thing happen in Britain?

Reassuringly, the UK authorities have said that their decision-making process will be quick. But how tough will it be? Will there be many ‘false positives’ who will then have to choose a different country to do scientific research? I’m sure that other European countries, Canada, Australia and a few other nations will be very attentive in case there’s a repeat of the bonanza of students they welcomed after the US turned them down. That is, of course, until those countries decide that maybe they also should place more guards at their borders.