Ministers should ditch their "wholly unjust" plan to deny foreign students the right to appeal against being refused a visa, university leaders said last night.
Vice-chancellors attacked reforms to visa rules in the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Bill. Removing the right of appeal will discourage thousands from coming to Britain, said pressure group Universities UK, and have dire consequences for academia and the economy.
Group president Prof Ivor Crewe said: "As a matter of principle it is wholly unjust to take away the right of appeal where decision-making is subjective and often wrong. The Government's own figures show that one in four visa appeals are successful - proof that this is a deeply flawed system."
The Government provoked anger by raising charges for visas for overseas students from £36 to £85 this month.
Universities UK has also condemned moves to increase fees for foreign students who want to extend visas to complete their studies.
Professor Crewe said: "This is the third in a triple whammy of visa measures that send an entirely wrong message to the best and the brightest students around the world, whom we should be encouraging to study in the UK.
"The benefits to the UK conferred by international students are enormous."
Northumberland
