Student visas

Changes to the student visa regime are ill-advised, a committee of MPs has said.

The government plans to reduce the number of foreign students as part of an immigration crackdown that would decrease net migration to a target of 100,000 by 2015.

The coalition's plans include an increase in the level of English required to study in the country.

But MPs warned that international students contributed directly to the growth of the higher education industry.

The home affairs select committee said that cutting their numbers would be "detrimental" to a thriving industry.