Professionals in the UK’s FE sector have slammed the Home Office’s reforms to student visa regulations, warning that the restrictive policy will affect the HE pipeline of international students planning to enrol and study at undergraduate level in the UK.

New research commissioned by the UK government shows that restrictions on Tier 4 student visas (held by those studying a year or longer) have hit England's public further education (FE) sector hard, resulting in lower student recruitment, lost income and course closures. This was conducted by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).