UK Edition
Theresa May plans new immigration crackdown on student visas
Theresa May’s new government is preparing the ground for a fresh crackdown on immigration amid concerns that universities have become an easy route into Britain for migrants who want to work.
The Prime Minister has backed calls to restrict student visas so that only the brightest and best can come to study at reputable universities in Britain.
As Home Secretary she took action to close down “bogus” colleges and to limit visas for students coming to study some further education courses.
But Mrs May’s team believe further restrictions on international students could significantly help to reduce net migration.
Government sources indicated that Home Office and Department for Education officials are likely to be ordered to examine what more can be done to tighten the student visa regime.
Options expected to be considered include stopping people coming to Britain to take so-called “Mickey Mouse” courses at low ranking institutions, action to stop universities marketing their courses as opportunities for students to work in Britain, and any further steps to make sure foreign students return home after finishing their studies.
The Home Office has estimated that one in five foreign students overstays their visa and continues to live in Britain long after their course has finished.
The plan, which is at an early stage, emerged after a row over whether Mrs May’s government remains committed to the target of reducing “net migration” to below 100,000.
Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, and Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, appeared last week to back away from the target before Mrs May stepped in to restate her commitment to achieving the goal.
As Home Secretary in David Cameron’s government, Mrs May clashed repeatedly with other ministers over her attempts to curb migration.
George Osborne, as Chancellor, and officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills tried to thwart her efforts because they regarded international students as good for the economy and for universities, which charge them higher tuition fees.
The Treasury and the BIS department were trying to relax the student visa rules by removing student numbers from official immigration statistics altogether.
Last year, the Treasury estimated that an extra 55,000 foreign students would be coming to Britain every year, taking the total number of these non-EU migrants to 320,000 by 2020. This would boost the economy by £1 billion, government documents suggested.
However, when she became Prime Minister, Mrs May sacked Mr Osborne and abolished BIS. The universities brief was moved into a beefed-up Department for Education under the new Education Secretary, Justine Greening, who is one of the Prime Minister’s strongest allies.
Her most influential policy adviser, Nick Timothy, has also previously called for further action to tighten Britain’s student visa regime.
Last December, while he was working for an education charity outside government, Mr Timothy warned that the “generosity of our student visa rules” made the net migration target “almost impossible to achieve”.
Mr Timothy, now the Prime Minister’s chief of staff, believes assessments of the economic impact of foreign students should not overlook the added strain they place on housing and public services.
Net migration – the difference between the numbers arriving in the UK and leaving – among students from outside Europe was 93,000 in the year to June 2015. Overall net migration is close to last year’s record high of 335,000. While Britain remains in the EU, students from other member states do not need visas.
Last week, the Foreign Secretary appeared to suggest that the government was retreating from its target to cut net migration to below 100,000 a year. Mr Johnson said it was “entirely right to be careful about committing to numbers because one doesn't want to be in a position where you are disappointing people again”. Mrs May later intervened to reinstate the target.