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International students in the United Kingdom

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International Students in the United Kingdom between 2014/15 to 2022/23

The United Kingdom is among the world's most popular destinations for international students, regularly placing within the top three countries for hosting international students alongside the United States and Australia.[1][2] Data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency indicates that students from the three countries of India, China, and Nigeria together account for around 53% of all international students enrolled at higher education institutions in the UK.[3]

In 2019, the UK government's International Education Strategy set a target to recruit 600,000 international students in higher education and to increase the value of higher education exports to £35 billion by 2030.[4] The recruitment target was met in one year and in the 2022/23 academic year, there were 758,855 international students studying at UK higher education institutions, equivalent to 25.8% of all higher education students in the UK – ranging from 18.6% in Wales to 28.7% in Scotland. This represented a 10.4% increase in international students from the previous year (2021/22: 679,790 and 2020/21: 605,130).[3] London Economics, a policy and economics consultancy, have estimated one first-year cohort of international students in 2018/19 to deliver £25.9 billion net benefit to the British economy over the course of their study.[5] They upgraded this figure to a net benefit of £37.4 billion for the 2021/22 academic year.[6] University College London's revenue from international tuition fees alone was worth over half a billion pounds – the equivalent of a third of the annual overseas earnings of the entire UK fishing industry.[7] This figure grew by about 25% to £640 million in the 2022/23 academic year.[8]

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) estimates that the number of international students will continue to increase with international applications to study at British universities expected to increase by 60%, from around 150,000 in 2022 to 240,000 in 2030.[9][10] As of 2023, 58 current world leaders have been educated at a higher education institution in the United Kingdom, second in the world only to the United States' 65.[11]

Classification

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By sending countries and regions

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The top 15 countries and regions sending students to the United Kingdom in 2022/23 are listed below.[3]

Rank Place of origin Number of Students Percent of Total
1  India 173,190 22.8%
2  China 154,260 20.3%
3  Nigeria 72,355 9.5%
4  Pakistan 34,690 4.6%
5  United States 22,540 3.0%
6  Hong Kong 17,905 2.4%
7  Bangladesh 14,945 2.0%
8  Malaysia 13,005 1.7%
9  France 10,305 1.4%
10  Ireland 9,410 1.2%
11  Italy 9,220 1.2%
12  Saudi Arabia 9,045 1.2%
13  Spain 8,730 1.2%
14  United Arab Emirates 8,350 1.1%
15  Germany 8,240 1.1%
Others 192,665 25.4%
Total 758,855 100%

By number of International Students

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The mainstream universities with the highest number of international students for 2022/23 are listed below:[12]

Rank Institution Number of International EU Students Number of International non-EU Students Total International Students
1 University College London 4,175 23,940 28,120
2 University of Manchester 1,920 16,600 18,515
3 University of Hertfordshire 555 16,540 17,095
4 University of Edinburgh 2,705 13,920 16,625
5 Coventry University 1,260 15,025 16,285
6 King's College London 3,195 12,800 15,995
7 University of Glasgow 1,990 13,210 15,200
8 University of the Arts London 1,715 11,275 12,990
9 University of Leeds 850 11,720 12,570
10 Imperial College London 2,530 8,975 11,505

By proportion of International Students

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The mainstream universities with the highest proportion of international students for 2022/23 are listed below:[12]

Rank Institution Number of International Students Percent of Student Body
1 London School of Economics 8,660 65.1%
2 University of the Arts London 12,990 55.0%
3 University College London 28,120 54.3%
4 Imperial College London 11,505 51.7%
5 University of Hertfordshire 17,095 49.9%
6 University of St Andrews 5,740 47.2%
7 University of East London 10,355 46.1%
8 Coventry University 16,285 46.0%
9 Brunel University London 8,135 44.3%
10 University of Bedfordshire 6,415 43.7%

Graduate route for international students

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See also: Immigration policy of the United Kingdom

On 14 October 2019, the Home Office confirmed that graduates of the country's higher education institutions will be eligible for the two-year Graduate Route visa from summer 2021.[13]

In July 2020, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy revealed that international students who complete a PhD from Summer 2021 can stay in the UK for 3 years after study to live and work with the Graduate Route visa, as opposed to 2 years for undergraduate and postgraduate students.[14] The UK Home Office also confirmed that dependants of postgraduate international students with a Graduate Route post study work visa from 2021 will retain leave to remain and the right to work in the UK provided they were in the country with them during the international student's postgraduate studies.[15]

Economic impact of students

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A study published in 2023 by Universities UK International (UUKi), the Higher Education Policy Institute and Kaplan International Pathways in collaboration with London Economics, has found that the economic impact of international students has risen steadily from £31.3 billion in 2018/9 to £41.9 billion in 2021/22. International students were found to make the greatest impact in the cities of Glasgow, London, Sheffield, Nottingham and Newcastle.[6]

According to data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency for the 2021/22 academic year, higher education institutions in the UK received tuition fees and contracts worth £9.99 billion from international students (£1.06 billion from EU students and £8.93 billion from non-EU students). International tuition fees made up the largest proportion of tuition fees income at the following mainstream universities with all ancient universities of Scotland and London members of the Golden triangle featuring:[16]

Rank Institution Total non-UK fees (£m) Total tuition fees income (£m) Non-UK fees as % of tuition fees income
1 University of Glasgow 290,304 380,717 76.3%
2 Imperial College London 301,355 423,195 71.2%
3 University of St Andrews 96,539 137,407 70.3%
4 University College London 543,844 778,553 69.9%
5 University of Edinburgh 341,988 496,955 68.8%
6 University of Aberdeen 61,808 89,923 68.7%
7 London School of Economics 180,270 265,772 67.8%
8 University of the Arts London 206,757 326,337 63.4%
9 University of Manchester 394,981 638,205 61.9%
10 King's College London 369,904 610,493 60.6%

Controversies and concerns

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Over reliance on students from China

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The United Kingdom remains one of the most desirable countries for Chinese students looking to study abroad, ahead of the USA, Australia, and Canada.[17] This has led to students from mainland China making up significant proportions of international students at some universities: Southampton: 60.5%; RCA: 59.8%; Sheffield: 57.8%; York: 56.2%; Birmingham: 50.3%; and Manchester: 49.9%.[18] In 2021/22, Southampton doubled its income from international students to £170 million in just one year.[19] Research from the centre-right think tank Onward has estimated that the average university makes 7% of their total fee income from China-domiciled students, with 16 universities (mainly Russell Group) receiving more than a fifth of their fee income from China-domiciled students.[20] There are concerns that universities are becoming overly reliant on international students from China for financing and increasing geopolitical shifts between China and the United Kingdom may lead to a sudden drop in recruitment.[21] Adam Habib, Director of SOAS, has argued that the majority of universities in the United Kingdom will be severely impacted financially in this event.[22] In response, the university sector is aiming to diversify its intake and has been targeting emerging markets in India, South Asia and Nigeria.[23] In 2022, for the first time, more study visas were issued to Indian nationals than Chinese nationals.[24]

Net migration and dependants

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In 2022, Suella Braverman, then Home Secretary of the United Kingdom, wanted to curb the number of international students and in particular, the number of dependants on student visas.[25] The number of dependants accompanying international students granted visas had increased eight-fold in three years to 135,788 in 2022, with Nigerian and Indian nationals bringing the most dependants. In 2015, dependants from the two countries accounted for 11% of all dependants, at around 1,500 individuals. By 2022, this grew to over 100,000 individuals, representing about 73% of all dependants. Nigerian nationals had a main applicant to dependency ratio exceeding one – 10 times the rate for all other countries except for India.[26] In 2022/23, 60,923 dependants accompanied 59,053 Nigerian students and 38,990 dependants accompanied 139,539 Indian students.[27] In the previous year, 34,031 Nigerian students arrived in the United Kingdom with 31,898 dependant visas issued alongside them, in contrast, 114,837 Chinese students arrived in the same period with only 401 dependant visas issued alongside them.[28] Local reporting in Nigeria has credited the growth in students and dependants to the broader movement of 'Japa', a Yoruba term meaning 'to scarper' Nigeria, with no intention of returning due to the country's problem with corruption and poor governance.[29][30] Reporting from the BBC suggested that some Nigerians are willing to study for degrees they do not need in order to have a 'stepping stone' into the UK with the prospect of free education for their dependants in the UK preferable to paying for private education in Nigeria.[31][32]

Braverman faced opposition to these plans from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Education, Gillian Keegan and the Science Minister, George Freeman who were concerned that this may damage the prospects of the country's 'science superpower' ambitions.[33] In May 2023, the Home Office announced plans to restrict the ability to bring dependants to only postgraduate courses designated as research programmes, effective from January 2024.[34] As the new restrictions came into place, exemptions were also extended to courses with government-funded scholarships.[35] In the first quarter of 2024, the number of dependant visas issued for students fell by 80% compared to the previous year. Visas issued for international students also fell by 15%.[36]

Use of agents

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The Observer reported in 2023 that UK universities were spending millions of pounds on agents fees, with universities that provided data in response to freedom of information requests typically reporting fees of between £2,000 and £8,000 per student. The University of Greenwich paid more than £28.7 million to recruit almost 3,000 postgraduate and 500 undergraduate students, while De Montfort University paid £17.1 million to recruit almost 4,500 students.[37]

The report also highlighted that there were ethical concerns around agents, with the general secretary of the Indian National Student Association, a representative body for Indian students in the UK, saying that agents had tried to direct students onto certain courses by offering incentives, regardless of whether these were a good choice for the student. Former universities minister Jo Johnson also warned that unethical agents that falsified visa paperwork could put universities' licences at risk.[37]

In order to address ethical concerns, the UK Agent Quality Framework, administered by the British Universities International Liaison Association, was launched in 2022.[38] A formal 'universities pledge' to follow the framework was introduced in 2023 and signed initially by 28 institutions, including Bangor University, Durham University, the University of East Anglia, the University of Edinburgh and the University of Ulster.[39]

References

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  1. ^ "Education: Inbound internationally mobile students by continent of origin". data.uis.unesco.org. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Global Mobility Trends". Institute of International Education.
  3. ^ a b c "Where do HE students come from?: Non-UK HE students by HE provider and country of domicile". hesa.ac.uk. Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  4. ^ "International students in UK higher education: FAQs". House of Commons Library. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Bilimoria warns cutting foreign student numbers would be 'utter madness'". Financial Times. 25 January 2023.
  6. ^ a b Weale, Sally (16 May 2023). "International students boosted UK economy by £42bn in 2021/2 – study". The Guardian. Archived from the original on Dec 15, 2023.
  7. ^ Alan, Beattie (4 May 2023). "Fish exports are a drop in the ocean next to overseas student fees". Financial Times.
  8. ^ "Russell Group draws majority of fee income from overseas". Times Higher Education. 12 February 2024.
  9. ^ Staton, Bethan (27 March 2023). "UK higher education applicants to rise to 1mn a year by 2030, warns UCAS". Financial Times.
  10. ^ "Agents expecting to send more international students to UK". Times Higher Education. 9 August 2022.
  11. ^ Jack, Patrick (22 August 2023). "UK gains ground on US in educating world leaders". Times Higher Education.
  12. ^ a b "Where do HE students study?: Students by HE provider". HESA. HE student enrolments by HE provider. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Fact sheet: Graduate Immigration Route". UK Home Office. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  14. ^ "3 year UK PSW for PhD students from 2021". Global Education Times. July 2020. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  15. ^ "UK confirms work rights for dependants of postgraduate PSW students". Global Education Times. 13 July 2020. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  16. ^ "What is the income of HE providers?: Tuition fees". hesa.ac.uk. Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  17. ^ Jing Liu (22 July 2022). "Chinese students 'prefer UK to other study destinations'". Times Higher Education. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023.
  18. ^ Jack, Patrick (18 May 2023). "OfS writes to 23 institutions over 'high levels' of Chinese students". Times Higher Education. Archived from the original on Oct 27, 2023.
  19. ^ "Overseas student recruitment windfall for leading UK universities". Times Higher Education. 18 January 2023.
  20. ^ Tanner, Will. "Trading Places: How universities have become too reliant on overseas students and how to fix it" (PDF). Onward.
  21. ^ Morgan, John (30 June 2022). "English universities 'vulnerable' on overseas fee reliance". Times Higher Education. Archived from the original on Sep 22, 2023.
  22. ^ Williams, Tom (28 February 2023). "Over-reliance on China and India leaves UK universities 'exposed'". Times Higher Education. Archived from the original on Sep 20, 2023.
  23. ^ "UK universities target overseas students from outside China". Financial Times. 19 January 2023.
  24. ^ "India overtakes China as student migration to UK hits record high". Times Higher Education. 24 November 2022.
  25. ^ Syal, Rajeev (4 October 2022). "Suella Braverman revives Tory pledge to cut net migration to 'tens of thousands'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on Nov 13, 2023.
  26. ^ "MAC Annual Report: December 2023" (PDF). Migration Advisory Committee. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  27. ^ Dathan, Matt; Zeffman, Henry (19 May 2023). "Stand-off over Braverman plan to ban families of foreign students". The Times.
  28. ^ Wood, Poppy (30 March 2023). "Jeremy Hunt locks horns with Suella Braverman over plans to curb foreign student numbers". The i.
  29. ^ Ogunbiyi, Ore (24 February 2023). "A young person's guide to escaping Nigeria". The Economist. Archived from the original on Dec 14, 2023.
  30. ^ Packer, Helen (21 March 2023). "Japa – the new trend driving Nigerians to study abroad?". The Pie News.
  31. ^ "UK new migration law and how e go affect your japa plans". BBC News Pidgin. 23 May 2023.
  32. ^ "UK immigration: YouTube influencer says 'some people hide behind studentship'". BBC News. 24 May 2023.
  33. ^ Smyth, Chris; Dathan, Matt (11 January 2023). "Science minister at odds with Braverman's student migrant cap". The Times. Archived from the original on Sep 24, 2023.
  34. ^ "Home Office to stop students from bringing family to UK in bid to curb migration". Sky News. 23 May 2023.
  35. ^ "Tough government action on student visas comes into effect". gov.uk. Home Office. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  36. ^ "Visa crackdown causes plunge in family members of foreign students coming to UK". The Telegraph. 30 April 2024.
  37. ^ a b Shanti Das (18 November 2023). "UK universities paying millions in agent fees to secure international students". The Observer.
  38. ^ Sophie Hogan (27 May 2022). "Agent quality framework set to be a "game changer" for UK sector". PIE News.
  39. ^ Nick Cuthbert (5 December 2023). "Pledge shows UK unity for Agent Framework". PIE News.
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