In the same speech Mrs May said over 100,000 UK visa applicants would be subject to face-to-face interviews as part of their application, the Home Secretary said PhD students would be allowed to remain in the UK in the hopes of attracting more talented students to Britain.

The Conservative-led coalition Government has made significant changes to UK visa and immigration policy in the past year, particularly relating to international students. One of the most significant changes has been the removal of post study work rights for international students; a change that has reportedly seen application rates plummet.

However, the Government has continually maintained that the UK remains open to genuine international students and the changes are only intended to tackle abuse of the system. Despite the growing number of critics, which include many British universities and Mayor of London Boris Johnson, Mrs May says it's not just the Government's responsibility to make British universities appeal to foreign students.

"The universities have got a job here as well in making sure that people actually understand that we're open for university students coming into the UK," Mrs May told the Financial Times,

"There's a job here not just for the Government. I think there's a job for the universities as well to make sure that people know that we are open."

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The UK Visa Bureau is an independent immigration consultancy specialising in helping people prepare for their UK Ancestry Visa application.