Theresa May, the home secretary, has announced the coalition’s compromise package regarding the student visa system. She claimed that it will decrease the number of overseas students by almost 25%. All in all, it is expected that up to 80,000 fewer students would come to Britain. The home secretary said that restrictions introduced for overseas students can lead to reduce in numbers by a further 20,000.
According to Theresa May, the curb was vital not only to tackle abuse but also to help the government realize its plan to reduce annual net migration to below 100,000 a year. She wrote in her
essay: "The most significant migrant route to Britain is the student route. And so we must take action here too".
The final package will come into force starting from April. It will involve tighter rules on private colleges providing education to overseas students; students who work part-time; changes to post-study work route; tougher requirements for the English language command etc.
The National Union of Students as well as English-language schools and universities believe that the final package meets their expectations and responded to their concerns. However, the shadow home secretary,
Yvette Cooper, claimed that restricting the number of students in some areas only does not correspond to a net migration target.
