Up to 50,000 migrants were allowed to abuse student visas and come to the UK to work because of a lack of proper controls, MPs have said.
A powerful Westminster committee said it was extraordinary that new requirements had been introduced without enough checks and balances.
The warnings come just a year after Glasgow Caledonian University became the first in the UK to have its licence to take foreign students temporarily suspended amid visa fears.
Last week, London Metropolitan University was also told it could not take students from outside the EU.
In their report, MPs found that problems were triggered by new requirements for students to have their visa's sponsored by universities.
The 2009 change allowed the number of migrants abusing the student route to soar by as many as 50,000. Margaret Hodge, the chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee, said: "The result of the poorly planned and ill-thought out course of action was chaos: an immediate high level of abuse of the new system and a surge in the number of student visas."
She also accused the UK Border Agency of a failure to act, saying the official response had been "unacceptably slow".
She added: "The UKBA must take urgent enforcement action to remove [these people]. This would also send a message to other would-be migrants that the student route is not an easy option for those with no intention of studying." Yesterday, Immigration Minister Damian Green praised Glasgow Caledonian for working very quickly to resolve its problems and have its sponsor status reinstated.
But he defended the handling of London Metropolitan's case, insisting that the situation was "significantly more serious".
The decision leaves hundreds of legitimate students facing deportation if they can not find an alternative visa sponsor.
London Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn questioned the effect on the UK's reputation if students were forced to return home.
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