There have been concerns that student visas have been dishonestly used to get into the UK The rules for student visas into the UK are to be much tougher - after fears that this route of entry is being used dishonestly.
Home Secretary Theresa May said student visas were being abused and "too many were here to work and not to study".She announced plans to cut the number of student visas by up to 80,000 - about a quarter of the current numbers.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper warned that rules must not damage an industry worth £5bn a year.
Mrs May told the House of Commons that the misuse of student visas had become a "symbol of a broken and abused immigration system".
Language rules The tougher rules will include a requirement for students to be able to speak English.
Mrs May said she wanted to end the situation where would-be students arrived at UK airports unable to even describe the courses they were about to begin.
There will also be tighter regulations on allowing the dependents of students to join them in the UK - and less flexibility in the number of years that overseas students can spend in the UK after courses are finished.
In response to concerns that students visas are being misused by economic migrants, there will be limits on the hours of paid work which overseas students will be allowed to carry out.
Universities had previously expressed fears about the loss of overseas students from tighter visa rules - but Universities UK said that their concerns had been taken into account.
Many of the restrictions are targeted at students in private colleges - rather than universities.
Language colleges and providers of pre-university entry courses had warned of the damage to their businesses if visa rules make it difficult for legitimate students to enter the UK.
But Mrs May told MPs that such "pathway" courses into universities would be protected, if universities acted as sponsors to students.
Bogus colleges The tightening of student visa rules follows concerns that this entry route is being used by migrants who really want to work and not study.
The Home Office says that the number of student visa entrants has trebled in the past decade.
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Despite repeated efforts to tighten the rules, there are still concerns about the misuse of the visa system by self-regulated, private colleges.
There have been 64 colleges which have had their right to sponsor overseas students withdrawn, since the current regulations were introduced.
But there have also been concerns about managing to achieve the right balance between tightening the visa rules and avoiding damaging a lucrative business.
Last week the Home Affairs Select Committee recommended that the government should abandon plans to raise the level of English required to gain a visa.
UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: "The government's student visa plans are short-sighted and risk sending out the worrying message that the UK is closed for business."
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