The Scottish Affairs Committee has published its report on the proposed changes to the student visa system today. In the report, MPs warn that the student visa ‘clamp-down’, which forms part of the government’s pledge to significantly reduce net-migration to the UK, could have a “disproportionate impact on Scottish universities and the Scottish economy.”

MPs argue that, given the size of the Higher Education sector in Scotland, and that the proposals are primarily designed to address a problem which, MPs claim, is largely insignificant in Scotland, the “high standard” of Scottish education and the financial status of many institutions, could, unintentionally, be "compromised and diminished."

MPs warn that Scottish circumstances were not adequately taken into account when proposals, which will apply across the UK, were drawn up, and they call for action to adjust the UK criteria accordingly.

They believe that the visa proposals are likely to damage partnership working between universities and industry, as well as Scotland's attractiveness to multinational corporations.

In December 2010 the Home Office published a consultation paper on student immigration, which aimed to introduce measures to reduce abuse of the immigration system and significantly reduce the number of international students, and thus the number of migrants, coming to the UK. At the same time, the Home Secretary said: "we do not want genuine, high quality students to be deterred by visa procedures".

International students choose to study in Scotland because of the “opportunity to get a high standard of education”, MPs argue. In a statement outlining the committee’s findings, they go on to explain that students choosing a Scottish Higher Education Institution often benefit from the “opportunity to gain valuable work experience in specialist subjects like petroleum engineering. A system that allows a certain number of international students to come to Scotland to study and learn valuable skills benefits the students, the universities and the Scottish economy. Changes to the immigration and visa system should not put this at risk.”

MPs are urging the government to address as a matter of urgency: “the adverse impact of the proposals on the Scottish economy, the lack of focus in the proposals on bogus colleges rather than all, overwhelmingly reputable, institutions and the need to separately recognise students within our definition of immigrant.”

Ian Davidson MP, Chair of the committee, said,  "The university and higher education sector contributes near £0.5 billion in export income to Scotland. The sector is extremely important to us with many institutions punching above their weight internationally, and the contribution of international students to the Scottish economy must not be underestimated.

The detrimental impact of the government’s proposals is therefore very worrying. Evidence from Scottish universities was clear: they will be adversely and unduly affected by these changes. This is particularly threatening for them at a time of great financial pressure.

We accept the need to control immigration, but believe the Government should be more focused in its approach. We therefore believe that they must take action to address the concerns we have raised in our report, and we will continue to monitor these issues closely."

Alasdair Allan, Scottish minister for learning and skills, said, “This report backs concerns we have expressed repeatedly that these immigration changes are unsuitable for Scotland’s needs.

“They are likely to have a significant negative impact on our colleges and universities and consequently their ability to contribute fully to the wider Scottish economy.”