International students in UK higher education

Overseas student numbers

In 2022/23 there were 758,855 overseas students studying at UK universities, 95,505 of whom were from the EU and 663,355 from outside the EU. The total was the tenth record high in a row and 26% of the total student population.

In 2017/18, the number of new overseas entrants to UK universities was around 254,000, increases in the last five years saw overseas entrant numbers reach another new high of 459,200 in 2022/23.

The top sending countries for overseas entrants have changed over recent years.

• India sent the most students to the UK in 2021/22, 126,600 entrants in 2022/23; this was more than ten 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 from China fell in 2020/21 and increased only modestly afterwards to 102,800 in 2022/23.
• Rapid increases in entrants from Nigeria since 2017/18 have seen it move into third place with 53,800 entrants in 2022/23.
• The total number of EU entrants increased gradually in the late 2010s before falling sharply by 53% in 2021/22 (when funding rules and visa requirements changed) and a further 8% in 2022/23.

Source: HESA, HE student enrolments by permanent address 2018/19 to 2022/23 (and earlier editions)

There are some signs of a fall in international student numbers in 2023 and 2024. The number of student visas granted increased to a new record of around 484,000 in 2022 before falling by 5% in 2023. Applications for study visas in August (traditionally the peak month) were 17% lower in 2024 than in 2023. Data from an international student enrolment platform suggests that postgraduate entrants in January 2024 were down by around one-third.

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.

Reconciling their objectives towards international students with broader UK immigration policy has presented challenges to successive governments and resulted in some policy instability, as reflected by changes made over recent years to student visa holders’ rights to work, sponsor relatives and change visa category.

Like the previous government, the Labour government is committed to reducing net migration. It has been suggested there is a tension between ambitions to increase international student numbers and reduce net migration.

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.

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.

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, the ‘graduate route’, opened. The graduate visa gives international graduates permission to stay in the UK for two years after successfully completing a course in the UK. For graduates who completed a PhD or other doctoral qualification, the visa lasts for three years.

Recent immigration policy changes affecting international students

Some new restrictions on student visa conditions came into effect in January 2024. People coming to do taught postgraduate courses lost the right to bring dependant family members to the UK, and new students have been prevented from switching into a work visa before the end of their course.

A review of the Graduate route published by the Migration Advisory Committee in May 2024 didn’t find widespread abuse of the Graduate visa or evidence it is undermining the integrity and quality of the UK higher education system. The Committee did highlight concerns about poor practice by some international student recruitment agents. Shortly before the 2024 general election the Sunak Government announced plans to introduce more stringent compliance standards for sponsoring education institutions and their use of recruitment agents. The Home Secretary has confirmed the government will proceed with those measures.

Funding

Research income from the EU was worth £772 million to UK universities in 2022/23, or 11% 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 £727 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 2022/23 fee income from all international students was £11.8 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 2022/23 (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.

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, have costs to the UK of £4.4 billion, and hence net economic benefits of £37.4 billion. The analysis 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.

In 2023, over one-quarter of the world’s countries (58) were headed by someone educated in the UK