Lord Paul said at Wolverhampton and Westminster

Universaties, for example, the new immigration policies have caused "a significant decrease in the number of postgraduate students from abroad". "The fundamental issue is the removal of the Post-Study Work visa which allowed undergraduate and most post-graduate students to work in the UK for up to two years. "The new student visa policy means they must return home after completing their studies unless they find an employer to sponsor them here," he said. The Vice Chancellor pointed out that international study is a huge investment for students and their families. "UK tuition fees can be ten times those of, say, Indian universities. Until now, the value of a UK degree outweighed the cost but without the ability to stay and work here on completing a degree, UK study is becoming unaffordable". He said that besides economic benefits, the opportunity to work in UK industry for up to two years provided international students with invaluable experience to take back to their home nations. Lord Paul said it is also a great benefit to the British students to have large number of overseas students because, apart from education in the universities, they gain from each other when they meet a larger number of nationalities. "That itself is education on its own. We are depriving the local students that opportunity by reducing the number of students," he said. Arguing that at the moment, a lot of students go to the US and Australia, he said England is a natural place for the Indian students to come because parents feel more comfortable sending their children. It is because "most of them have some relations, some people they know and it is always nice to send your child to places we know. "We are depriving them of that opportunity which will do a long term damage. People of India and UK have some of the best relationship. By denying that to the students, we are demoting that relationship," he said.