International students in UK higher education

Overseas student numbers

In 2023/24 there were 732,285 overseas students studying at UK higher education providers or 23% of the total student population. 75,490 of these students were from the EU and 656,795 from outside the EU. The total was down 4% from the 2022/23 record high. This was the first fall since 2012/13, but the 2023/24 figure was still the second highest ever number of overseas students.

In 2017/18, the number of new overseas entrants to UK universities was around 254,000. Increases over the following five years saw their numbers reach a record of 459,200 in 2022/23, before falling to 428,200 in 2023/24.

The top sending countries for overseas entrants have changed recently.

• India sent the most students to the UK in 2023/24 with 107,500 entrants. This was almost nine times the number of entrants from India in 2017/18.
• China had sent the most students to the UK for more than a decade, but new entrants have fallen in some recent years and were 98,400 in 2023/24.
• Rapid increases in entrants from Nigeria since 2017/18 have seen it move into third place in 2022/23 and retain that place in 2023/24 despite a large fall to 34,500.

Source: HESA, HE student enrolments by level of study 2019/20 to 2023/24 (and earlier editions)

There are some signs that the fall in international students may have slowed down or ended. The number of student visas granted increased to a new record of around 484,000 in 2022 before falling by 5% in 2023 and 14% in 2024. Applications for study visas in August (traditionally the peak month) were 17% lower in 2024 than in 2023. However, applications in each month from December 2024 to April 2025 were higher than in the equivalent month one year earlier.

In recent years, the UK has been the second most popular global destination for international students after the US. In 2019, it was overtaken by Australia and temporarily fell to third, before returning to second place in 2021 and 2022. Other English-speaking countries, such as New Zealand and Canada, are also seeing substantial increases in overseas students, as are European countries which are increasingly offering courses in English.

Government policy on international students

The new Labour government has sought to distance itself from what it has described as the “mixed messaging” of previous governments on international students. In July 2024, the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said the government unambiguously welcomed international students and valued their contribution to universities, communities, and the country.

The Labour government is also committed to reducing net migration. Reconciling objectives towards international students with broader UK immigration policy, including reducing net migration, has presented challenges to successive governments and resulted in some policy instability, as reflected by changes to international students’ rights to work, sponsor relatives and switch into other visa categories.

International Education Strategy

The UK Government’s International Education Strategy sets out actions to meet ambitions to:

• increase the value of education exports to £35 billion per year by 2030
• increase the total number of international students choosing to study in the UK higher education system (in universities, further education colleges and alternative providers) each year to 600,000 by 2030

The latter ambition was met for the first time in 2020/21, with 605,130 international higher education students studying in the UK.

In September 2024, the new Labour government said a review of the International Education Strategy would be conducted to ensure “it continues to be an effective tool in increasing the value of education exports, promote policy dialogue and reflect the priorities of education stakeholders, businesses and Ministers.”

Brexit

There was a sharp decline (50%) in accepted applicants for undergraduate study in the UK from EU countries in 2021/22. This was the first year after changes to visa requirements and student finance for these students. This group of entrants fell further in the following two years to its lowest level since the higher education sector was reorganised in 1994.

New students arriving from the EU to start courses from August 2021 are generally no longer eligible for home student status, which means they must pay international fees and will not qualify for tuition fee loans. Students who started courses on or before 31 July 2021 remain eligible for support for the duration of their course.

In September 2021, the Turing Scheme replaced the Erasmus+ programme in providing funding for participants in UK universities to go on international study and work placements. The decision not to fund students coming to the UK as part of the Turing Scheme has prompted concern there will be a decrease in international students and the benefits they bring to the UK.

Despite saying it had “no plans” for Britain to rejoin Erasmus+ in August 2024, the UK government announced on 19 May 2025 that it would work towards association with the programme as part of a “reset” in relations between the UK and EU.  

Student visa arrangements

The student visa route is the main visa category for international students coming to study at a higher education institution. How long students can stay depends on the length of their course and their previous studies in the UK. Degree-level students can usually stay for up to five years.

In July 2021, a new post-study work visa for international students opened, known as the graduate route. The graduate visa gives international students permission to stay in the UK for two years after successfully completing a course in the UK. Graduates who complete a PhD or other doctoral qualification can use the visa to stay for three years.

Recent immigration policy changes affecting international students

The Sunak government introduced some new immigration restrictions affecting international students and education providers as part of efforts to reduce net migration. They included removing international students’ ability to switch to a work visa before the end of their studies and confining the ability to bring family members to postgraduate research students.

The May 2025 immigration white paper includes changes affecting international students and higher education providers. The government says they are intended to ensure that student visas are only given to people who genuinely want to study, and that graduates who remain in the UK contribute at an “appropriate level.” The graduate visa will be reduced to 18 months, and new sponsor obligations designed to promote “responsible recruitment” of international students will be introduced.

Funding

Research income from the EU was worth £614 million to UK universities in 2023/24, or 8% of total research income. It included grants and contracts from EU Government bodies, charities, and the private sector. Research income from non-EU overseas sources was £756 million, or 10% of all research income in the same year.

Reductions to teaching grants, the freezing of tuition fee caps, rising costs have meant many higher education providers have looked to the tuition fees of international students to cross-subsidise shortfalls elsewhere in budgets. In 2023/24 fee income from all international students was £12.1 billion. This was 23% of total income, up from around 5% in the mid-1990s. International fees are not capped in the same way as the fees of ‘home’ students, and so providers can charge significantly more.

Source: HESA, Tuition fees and education contracts analysed by HE provider, domicile, mode, level, source and academic year 2016/17 to 2023/24 (and earlier editions)

However, there are growing concerns about the reliance of some UK universities on international tuition fee income, particularly from Chinese students. In June 2022, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee warned higher education providers are potentially exposing themselves to significant financial risks should assumptions about future growth in international student numbers prove over-optimistic.

In May 2025, the government’s immigration white paper included an intention to explore introducing “a levy on higher education provider income from international students”, which would be reinvested into the higher education and skills system. The white paper said further details would be set out in the 2025 Autumn Budget.

The costs and benefits of international students to the UK

The government estimates that higher education ‘exports’ were worth around £21.7 billion to the UK in 2021. Their real value has increased by 81% between 2010 and 2021.

Economic consultancy London Economics estimates that international students starting in 2021/22 would bring economic benefits to the UK of £41.9 billion. They cost the UK of £4.4 billion, so their net economic benefits is £37.4 billion. They said the economic impact was spread across the entire UK, with international students making a £58 million net economic contribution to the UK economy per parliamentary constituency across the duration of their studies. This is equivalent to £560 per member of the resident population.

Alongside these economic benefits, reports have suggested international students benefit the UK higher education experience by bringing an outward-looking culture to campuses and preparing students for working in a global environment. However, concerns have been raised about some international students not having the necessary English language skills to partake in classes and obtain degrees.

Since 2017, 39% of the world’s countries have had at least one very senior leader educated at a higher level in the UK. It has been argued this is an important contributor to the UK’s ‘soft power’ (the ability to influence the behaviour of others to achieve preferential outcomes), and helps to build long-term social, political, and trade links with other countries.