Home Secretary Theresa May is looking into tougher rules for visas for overseas university students, BBC Newsnight has learned.
The proposals would require students to have more financial savings on arrival.
In a confidential letter to other ministers, she argues that universities should “develop sustainable funding models that are not so dependent on international students”.The Home Office refuses to comment on leaked documents.
Student migration is a significant political problem for the government, which has a target of reducing net immigration to below 100,000 people per year.