Still, there is concern that the increased minimum salary for skilled workers on a Tier 2 visa could damage the attractiveness of the UK’s international education sector.

Although the change will not affect international students switching to a working visa, it may create a perception that it will be more difficult for employers to hire them post-graduation, according to stakeholders.

Under the new measures, which were announced at the end of last month by James Brokenshire, the minister for immigration, the salary threshold for immigrants on a Tier 2 (skilled worker) visa will rise by nearly a third to £30,000, as recommended by the Migratory Advisory Committee last year.

“The perception will be that employers will find it harder and more expensive for them to hire foreign UK graduates”

A £1,000 immigration skills charge will also be introduced for each certificate of sponsorship each year, although both international students switching to a Tier 2 visa and jobs requiring a PhD will be exempt from the charge.

“In the past, it has been too easy for employers to recruit overseas,” Brokenshire said.

The salary threshold for new entrants (including most foreign graduates) will remain at £20,800. For other skilled visa applicants, the baseline will rise to £25,000 this autumn and reach £30,000 in April 2017.

The £1,000 immigration skills charge will also be implemented next April.

A Universities UK spokesperson said that the impact on the higher education sector is likely to be minimal.

“We are glad that the government has listened to the points made by UUK and others, and has exempted jobs requiring PhDs from the proposal to levy an ‘immigration skills charge’ on employers,” said a Universities UK spokesperson.

“The highly skilled migrants who are attracted to the UK to fill these jobs bring enormous benefit to the UK economy, to our academic communities and to society as a whole.”

However, Pay Saini, a partner at Penningtons Manches LLP said the changes could further muddle the UK’s image overseas.

“The government has taken note of the concerns raised by various sectors including the education sector and has decided against implementing some of the more restrictive measures recommended by MAC. But it is disappointing – but not entirely unexpected – that the government has taken on board the recommendations which will increase the costs of hiring overseas talent for many employers,” she commented.

“As the UK battles to compete with other countries to attract the brightest international students, the perception will be that employers will find it harder and more expensive for them to hire foreign UK graduates,” she predicted.

Vincenzo Raimo, pro-vice-chancellor (global engagement) at the University of Reading, echoed the sentiment that the skills charge waiver for jobs requiring PhDs will minimise the impact on the sector, but argued that the rule change nevertheless “adds additional burdens to an already stretched and struggling sector”.

“It’s the indirect impact – this very negative portrayal of the UK internationally – that does the damage,” he commented.

“Increasingly UK universities rely on staff from overseas to ensure that they remain internationally competitive – we need to be and seen to be welcoming to staff and students from overseas if we’re to continue to punch so highly as a sector internationally,” he added.