Home Secretary Amber Rudd has announced major new restrictions on overseas students that may lead to those on “low-quality courses” facing tougher entry rules and which could see tuition fees increase for British students.

Addressing the Conservative Party Conference, Rudd argued against a higher education system that treats “every student and university as equal” because it currently allows “all students, irrespective of their talents and the university’s quality, favourable employment prospects” when they finish their studies.

Consequently, the Home Secretary raised the prospect of a multi-tiered visa system where employment and the right of an international student’s family to do “any form of work” in the UK would be tied to that student’s quality of course and university.

Her announcement comes among a crackdown on work visas and the introduction of a £140 million “controlling migration fund”.

Explaining her proposals, Rudd said: “our consultation will ask what more can we do to support our best universities – and those that stick to the rules – to attract the best talent… while looking at tougher rules for students on lower-quality courses”.

The plans are part of an attempt to “change the tide” in public opinion towards immigration by controlling the number of non-EU students, who constitute 167,000 out of 600,000 new migrants into the UK each year, for which there is currently no cap.

Rudd went on to criticise the fact that “foreign students, even those studying English Language degrees, don’t even have to be proficient in speaking English,” adding that a “one size fits all” policy was no longer acceptable, and that the government “[needed] to look at whether this generous offer for all universities is really adding value to our economy”.

The Home Secretary’s remarks on overseas students formed part of a broader criticism of businesses that fail to “ensure people coming here are filling gaps in the labour market, not taking jobs British people could do” and those firms which “get away with not training local people.”

“We won’t win in the world if we don’t do more to upskill our own workforce”, Rudd added.

Her higher education proposals have faced criticism on the basis that they could increase the fees paid by British students.
James Pitman, Managing Director of Study Group, which prepares international students for university degree programmes, said that “[t]he Home Secretary needs to be honest that a significant reduction in the number of international students will lead to upward pressure on the fees paid by British students, reduced investment in facilities, and damage to local economies.”

Labour MP Paul Blomfield has also criticised the plans as being “spectacularly ill-informed” and “an act of madness”, adding that “[i]nternational students bring £8 billion a year to the UK economy, creating tens of thousands of jobs across the country”.

Speaking to Varsity about the plans, a spokesperson for the University of Cambridge said that the institution: “has repeatedly expressed the view that students should not be included in the net migration figure.

“It is vital for recruitment that prospective students feel the UK is a welcoming environment.”

They added that student immigration regulations “should support the recruitment of legitimate internationally-domiciled students who make significant contributions to the UK’s economy, culture and knowledge base,” but acknowledged that “it is crucial to maintain confidence in the student visa regime, for example by tackling any abuses of the student immigration rules.”

As a globally competitive institution, we need the right atmosphere and funding to attract the brightest and best academic staff and students – no matter what their background.”

Nicola Dandridge, Chief Executive of Universities UK, reacted to the speech by saying that “[p]olling has shown that the British public does not see international students as long-term migrants, but as valuable, temporary visitors.

International students come to the UK, study for a period, and then the overwhelming majority go home after their studies.

If international graduates want to extend for a period of post-graduate work experience, they have to apply for another visa.”

She went on to say that “while genuine international students in the UK continue to be caught up in efforts to bear down on immigration, it will feed the perception internationally that the UK is closed for business and does not welcome students.”

In other news from the Conference, Prime Minister Theresa May said in her keynote speech that she wants to encourage more universities to set up schools. The University of Cambridge has already established a school, the Cambridge University Primary School, which celebrated its second year of intake with a visit from Vice-Chancellor Leszek Borysiewicz last week.

The school, which occupies a doughnut-shaped building designed by the architects of the London Eye in North West Cambridge, welcomed 120 children to its reception last year, doubling in size this year.

Elsewhere at the Conservative Party Conference, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond confirmed that the government will fund any multi-year EU-backed deals secured by British businesses and universities before Britain leaves the European Union.

Hammond also announced a £120 million collaboration between UK universities and the tech industry, designed to ensure that more university research can be transformed into viable business ventures.