Wei Yuan Wang has no regrets that he picked the UK to study aerospace engineering, but when considering where to put those valuable skills to work, he is looking elsewhere.

He chose Sheffield university over alternatives in Australia and his native Taiwan, where he must return for a year of military service, and fears he will struggle to secure permission to work in the UK. “The environment is not very friendly for international students to stay and work,” said Mr Wang, 21. “Employers would probably not hire you.”

His concern is shared by many leaders in the UK higher education sector who are nervous that ambitious strategies to recruit more international students — and generate revenue — could be undermined by tight British immigration restrictions and rising competition from rivals in other countries. Those fears were underlined by government proposals that emerged late last month to charge EU students significantly higher tuition fees after Brexit.