UK universities were lucky to only receive a ¡°yellow card¡± in the government¡¯s recent immigration White Paper and should be careful to avoid activities that could prompt further restrictions, a leading vice-chancellor has warned.

The long-awaited policy document,?published last month, proposed reducing the country¡¯s vital post-study work visa from two years to 18 months,?prompting fears of further damage to the sector¡¯s finances.

But Adam Tickell, vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Birmingham, said the reduction was the ¡°minimum we were going to get away with in the context of the very toxic politics around immigration¡± in the UK and a hostile environment globally.

Speaking at the annual Universities UK (UUK) International Higher Education Forum, he said further restrictions were saved by a ¡°battle royale¡± of lobbying but warned that ¡°clouds are certainly there on the horizon¡±.

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¡°We are in danger of losing our licence to operate with the public,¡± he added. ¡°While we say international students contribute to our GDP, growth¡­people hear that we prioritise internationals over British, that we¡¯re not meeting the needs of the British economy, or local students.¡±

Along with a shift to the right in British politics, universities must ¡°own some of this problem¡± ¨C having willingly used the ¡°international student tap¡± to plug holes in their finances for years,?Tickell told delegates at the Birmingham event.

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He warned that the sector had failed to?address the issue of some recruitment agents using?unethical admissions practices quickly enough, and that?some institutions have abused the intent of the law around dependant visas.

Under rules brought in last January,?most international students were barred from bringing family members with them?¨C apart from those on postgraduate research courses.

Tickell said there has been a significant increase in one-year Master of Research (MRes) degrees as a result, in an apparent attempt to circumvent the ban.

¡°There are universities in this country where you do one year effectively unsupervised which are branded as MRes degrees but the reason they exist is they give you access to dependant visas.

¡°There is no way that is anything other than an intent to grow a market within the intent of the law.¡±

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He warned that this makes it appear that the entire sector is ¡°constantly finding ways to arbitrage the law¡± and will be seen as abusing the system.

¡°We¡¯ve come close to a red card, we¡¯ve certainly had a yellow card. If we don¡¯t get our act together¡­we will be in a situation where it is done to us.¡±

Steve Smith, the UK government¡¯s International Education Champion, agreed. He warned that there was a view within the sector that it is ¡°on the side of justice and right¡± ¨C when the data indicates otherwise.

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¡°There is often a view that if we resist a bit, it will go away,¡± he added. ¡°If the sector doesn¡¯t work with government¡­something will be done to the sector.¡±

Recent surveys have suggested that a large number of international students?are less likely to want to study in the UK as a result of changes proposed to the graduate route.

At the event, the British Council revealed its own recent research that has found a ¡°mixed bag of concerns in an already challenged environment¡±?around the White Paper.

Its researchers looked at local media reports in several key international source markets and found varying levels of concern. In Nigeria it was felt that UK higher education is becoming ¡°the preserve of only the wealthiest of Nigerian families¡±.

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Chinese families were more concerned with possible reputational damage to UK universities from the financial crisis, said Catriona McCarthy, global head of student mobility and internationalisation of UK education at the British Council.

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com