The British government is considering tighter controls on entry visas for foreign students, to address concerns that illegal immigrants are using them as an easy way to get into Britain.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said officials would look at the possibility of raising the minimum level of courses for which students could gain permission to stay.

The announcement came as Brown addressed public concern over immigration. In a speech in London, he acknowledged many Britons'fears that foreign workers are taking their jobs and putting a strain on housing.

He said the visa review would look at rules that allow students on shorter and lower-qualification courses to work part-time and at whether the students were filling jobs "that would be better filled by young British workers". But tighter rules might affect colleges and universities, some of which relied on foreign students for more than half their income.

Brown said immigration was neither an issue for fringe parties nor a taboo subject. "I have never agreed with the lazy elitism that dismisses immigration as an issue, or portrays anyone who has concerns about immigration as a racist.

"People worry about whether immigration will undermine their wages and the job prospects of their children. They worry about whether their grown-up children will be able to get housing anywhere near them."

By Special correspondent