Examples for the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS)
The Department of Education of Country A approaches a UK university to enter into an arrangement to receive more students from Country A. As part of the arrangement, the UK university agrees to lobby the UK Government to create a short-term visa-free study programme for Country A. In return, the Department for Education of Country A offers to promote the university among students within the country and offer specific job opportunities for graduates from the university. The UK university emails the UK Home Secretary, outlining reasons why it considers that this programme should be created.
The UK university is required to register. They are in an arrangement with the Department for Education of Country A (a foreign power) who offers to promote the university to students in the country if (direction) they make a communication to government minister to influence a government decision (political influence activity). No exemptions apply.
The Department of Science of Country B enters into an arrangement with a UK university to provide the university with funding for a research project. As part of the arrangement, the university agrees to contact the UK Government to promote using scientific software created by Country B within the UK armed forces. The university emails the UK Secretary of State for Defence, outlining reasons why it considers that this software should be utilised.
The UK university is required to register. They are in an arrangement with the Department of Science of Country B (a foreign power), where they would receive funding if (direction) they made a communication to a government minister to influence a UK government decision (political influence activity). No exemptions apply.
The Department of Science of Country C enters into an arrangement with an academic of a UK university, and provides them with funding for their own private research, from which the academic would be retaining the profits themself. As part of the arrangement, the academic agrees to use their UK government contacts to promote the use of scientific software created by Country C within the UK armed forces.
The academic emails the UK Secretary of State for Defence, outlining reasons why they consider that this software should be utilised. The academic is required to register. They are in an arrangement with the Department of Science of Country C (a foreign power) in relation to their own work, where they have an arrangement with a financial benefit (direction) to make a communication to a government minister to influence a UK government decision (political influence activity). No exemptions apply.
In this circumstance, the academic has made the arrangement independently of the university that they work for, so it is the academic who is personally responsible for compliance and not the university as an organisation. This applies even if the academic uses their university email address for this arrangement.
The Department of Education of Country E has been specified under the enhanced tier. The Department of Education of Country E enters into an arrangement with a UK university to promote a placement year abroad in Country E for their UK students, and in return the university will receive grant funding.
The UK university is required to register. They are in an arrangement with the Department of Education of Country E (a specified foreign power) where they are offered grant funding (direction) to promote Country E to UK students for a placement year abroad (relevant activity). No exemptions apply.
The Ministry for Science of Country F has been specified on the enhanced tier. The Ministry for Science approaches a UK university, with whom it signs a non-disclosure agreement and memorandum of understanding, and the two agree to hold discussions about a potential future research programme to be funded by the Ministry and carried out at the UK university. The Ministry for Science directs the university to sponsor the visas for its officials to visit the UK and agree terms for the research programme.
The UK university is required to register. They are in an arrangement with the Ministry for Science of Country F (a specified foreign power) to sponsor visas and discuss terms for a potential research programme (relevant activities). There are potential future opportunities for the university associated with the programme, meaning that this constitutes a direction.
Whilst at this stage, a formal agreement on the research programme has not been signed, the more informal arrangement (backed up by a non-disclosure agreement and memorandum of understanding) to hold discussions in the UK and sponsor visas in itself constitutes a registerable arrangement.
A UK university is organising a conference on medieval literature. They invite a Country F-based organisation to attend the conference, and sponsor their UK visas. The Government of country F has been specified under the enhanced tier but does not have any involvement in the organisation’s attendance at the conference.
The UK university is not required to register. While they are in an arrangement with an organisation from Country F, that organisation is not part of the specified foreign power, nor is the specified foreign power directing the university to carry out any activities.
The Government of Country H has been specified on the enhanced tier. All universities within the country are owned by the Government, although their day-to-day operation is independent. A UK university enters into a partnership with a university, which has not itself been specified on the enhanced tier, in Country H. The two establish an exchange programme to allow students from each university to do study-abroad programmes and for engagement between researchers.
Registration is not required as the university in Country H, which the UK university is in an arrangement with, is not a specified foreign power-controlled entity. Whilst the Government of Country H has been specified, this does not mean that all entities owned or controlled by the Government are automatically specified.
Anyone who believes that their work may be relevant to FIRS or if you have any questions related to the scheme, please contact UniversitySecretary@tees.ac.uk.