International students have become a key source of funding for British universities in recent years. Overseas students pay more to study in the UK than their domestic counterparts, allowing universities to mitigate the impact of a real-term decrease in the value of domestic student fees.

However, at the same time higher education sector is facing political pressure to reduce its reliance on international students. 

Universities have already taken a hit from visa restrictions introduced in the last couple of years. Earlier this year, PoliticsHome reported analysis found that some institutions had seen income from overseas students drop by as much as £10m year-on-year.

Tim Bradshaw, Chief Executive of the Russell Group, confirmed there is concern about a “rapid growth of MRes courses at a handful of institutions”, which they say “is not in the spirit of the rules”.

“It’s in the interests of universities, students and the public to tackle any fraud and abuse of the visa system,” he told PoliticsHome.

However, he stressed: “Any action should be proportionate and targeted, to address problem areas. Sweeping changes could risk undermining the highly-skilled workforce we need to build to achieve economic growth.”

Bradshaw said that while MRes courses are “a small part of the offer at research-intensive universities”, they are “long-standing programmes critical to the long-term [research and development] workforce pipeline”.

“We want to see the government maintain a supportive visa system that continues to welcome global talent.”

Jamie Arrowsmith, director of Universities UK International, told PoliticsHome that when the rules were changed for dependant visas, the government was “clear that the scale and pattern of MRes provision would be closely monitored”. 

“As such, it’s important that any policy response is proportionate to the extent of the concerns being raised. We are actively liaising with government, and are ready to work with them to set clearer guidelines for universities – to ensure that all parties have a shared understanding of expectations and responsibilities,” Arrowsmith added. 

This week, the Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that the government was temporarily suspending all applications to bring family members to the UK under the asylum system.

On Tuesday, the BBC reported that tens of thousands of foreign students were being contacted by the government and told they would be removed from the UK if they overstay their visas.

Cooper told the BBC that international students are claiming asylum “even when things haven’t changed in their home country”.