AS the political parties continue to set out their policies in the run-up to the General Election, many universities and businesses will be pleased that the proposed immigration restrictions around international students have not gained much support.

In fact many have voiced their concern about the economic effects of such a policy being put in place.

In 2010 the Conservative Government made a commitment to reduce net migration.

Despite this assurance, in June 2014 net migration rose to 240,000.

The Government’s action has been to try to regulate the stay of those who need permission to remain in the UK.

The new proposed policy was that international students should no longer be able to switch immigration status to employment while in the UK.

At present, students are allowed a short period, at the end of their courses, when they are permitted to seek employment.

During this time, if students are able to find a sponsor prepared to offer them suitably highly skilled and paid employment, they are able to stay on the basis of this sponsorship.

Whilst the new policy would have seen some students able to return to the UK to work at a later date, it seems likely that such a policy would have been a significant deterrent and would have reduced the number of international students returning.

In April 2014, it was announced that the number of international students in the UK had fallen for the first time in 29 years.

Many universities rely on international students as a source of income and businesses use their expertise following study.

Where this skill has not been available in the UK, companies have been forced to redistribute business abroad.

The Prime Minister says that immigration will not be a key focus of the Conservative party during the General Election campaign.

Given voters’ interest in immigration issues this is a surprising but welcome development bearing in mind the divisions such a debate can create.