British Home Secretary Theresa May speaks to the media outside The Houses of Parliament in central London, Britain, July 7, 2016. [Photo/IC]

Former Home Secretary, Theresa May, has become the United Kingdom's 54th prime minister and its second female leader. Some people have suggested that overseas students in the UK may now face harsher restrictions. Beijing News commented on Thursday:

Known as a hardliner on immigration issues, home secretary May gave many non-EU students a hard time when they attempted to prolong their stay in the UK. She abolished not only the work visa of the country's Highly Skilled Migrant Program in 2011, but also the post-study work visa in 2012, just four years after its issuance.

Before these visa arrangements were scrapped, overseas students could stay in the UK after graduation to gain work experience for two years. May even tried to press ahead with a new set of visa policies in 2014, which would require non-EU students to leave the country after graduation. This did not work out as then Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne opposed it.

It is estimated that more than 120,000 students outside the EU choose to study in the UK each year, contributing about 10 billion pounds ($13 billion) to its economy. About 80,000 of them are Chinese.

However, the UK is expected to tighten its control over immigrants under May's watch, making it harder for Chinese students to find a job there after graduation. But the extent will depend on the country's economic well-being, as a bad economy always leads to stricter immigration policies and vice versa.

It is natural, therefore, that many have begun to worry about the fate of Chinese students in the UK, as they may face harsher restrictions now that May has become prime minister.

In fact, no immediate changes are expected in this regard.

On the one hand, the new British government will have to deal with Britain's exit from the European Union, and visa and immigration policies are unlikely to be a priority before then.

On the other hand, EU students may find the UK universities less attractive if after the Brexit they are no longer entitled to the previous privileges they enjoyed. This would hit the country hard economically, especially as the fallout from the Brexit vote could tip the country into recession.