Student visas 'must be slashed by half' to meet immigration target

The number of students coming to Britain from outside the European Union will need to be more than halved if the government is to meet its immigration target, officials said yesterday.

More than 87,000 student visas must go if those coming to study are to take their share of the cut needed to bring net migration down from 196,000 to tens of thousands by 2015, said the independent body asked to recommend a level for the government's immigration cap.

The Migration Advisory Committee (Mac) said the number travelling to the UK on working holidays, and those who came to work as domestic servants or on creative and media visas, should also be slashed.

Mac chairman Professor David Metcalf said the number of migrant workers from outside the EU should be cut by 13-25 per cent next year.

The proposed cap was "more severe, more stringent" than this year's temporary cap, he said.