International students in the United Kingdom

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 China, India, and Nigeria together account for just under 48% of all international students enrolled at higher education institutions in the UK.[3]

International Students in the United Kingdom between 2014/15 to 2021/22

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 ten years early and in the 2021/22 academic year, there were 679,790 international students studying at UK higher education institutions, equivalent to 24% of all higher education students in the UK – ranging from 16.8% in Wales to 27.4% in Scotland. This represented a 12.3% increase in international students from the previous year (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]

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.[8][9] 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.[10]

Classification

By sending countries and regions

The top 15 countries and regions sending students to the United Kingdom in 2021/22 are listed below.[3]

Rank Place of origin Number of Students Percent of Total
1  China 151,690 22.3%
2  India 126,535 18.6%
3  Nigeria 44,195 6.5%
4  Pakistan 23,075 3.4%
5  United States 22,990 3.4%
6  Hong Kong 17,630 2.6%
7  Bangladesh 12,700 1.9%
8  Malaysia 12,135 1.8%
9  France 11,870 1.7%
10  Italy 11,320 1.7%
11  Spain 10,330 1.5%
12  Germany 9,915 1.5%
13  Ireland 9,855 1.4%
14  Romania 8,915 1.3%
15  Saudi Arabia 8,750 1.3%
Others 182,495 26.8%
Total 679,970 100%

By number of International Students

The mainstream universities with the highest number of international students for 2021/22 are listed below:[11]

RankInstitutionNumber of International EU StudentsNumber of International non-EU StudentsTotal International Students
1University College London4,40019,74524,145
2University of Manchester2,45015,72518,170
3University of Edinburgh3,57014,48018,050
4University of Glasgow2,59514,79517,390
5King's College London3,84013,31017,155
6Coventry University2,35515,65615,565
7University of Hertfordshire78512,44513,230
8University of the Arts London2,3409,72012,060
9Ulster University1,30010,74512,045
10Imperial College London2,7208,60011,320

By proportion of International Students

The mainstream universities with the highest proportion of international students for 2021/22 are listed below:[11]

RankInstitutionNumber of International StudentsPercent of Student Body
1London School of Economics8,52065.7%
2University of the Arts London12,06053.7%
3Imperial College London11,32052.7%
4University College London24,14551.6%
5University of St Andrews5,42545.9%
6University of Edinburgh18,05043.8%
7University of Hertfordshire13,23041.4%
8King's College London17,15541.3%
9Coventry University15,56540.8%
10University of Glasgow17,39040.5%

Graduate route for international students

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.[12]

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.[13] 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.[14]

Economic impact of students

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:[15]

RankInstitutionTotal non-UK fees (£m)Total tuition fees income (£m)Non-UK fees as % of tuition fees income
1University of Glasgow290,304380,71776.3%
2Imperial College London301,355423,19571.2%
3University of St Andrews96,539137,40770.3%
4University College London543,844778,55369.9%
5University of Edinburgh341,988496,95568.8%
6University of Aberdeen61,80889,92368.7%
7London School of Economics180,270265,77267.8%
8University of the Arts London206,757326,33763.4%
9University of Manchester394,981638,20561.9%
10King's College London369,904610,49360.6%

Controversies and concerns

Over reliance on students from China

The United Kingdom remains one of the most desirable countries for Chinese students looking to study abroad, ahead of the USA, Australia, and Canada.[16] 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%.[17] In 2021/22, Southampton doubled its income from international students to £170 million in just one year.[18] 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.[19] Adam Habib, Director of SOAS, has argued that the majority of universities in the United Kingdom will be severely impacted financially in this event.[20] In response, the university sector is aiming to diversify its intake and has been targeting emerging markets in India, South Asia and Nigeria.[21] In 2022, for the first time, more study visas were issued to Indian nationals than Chinese nationals.[22]

Net migration and dependants

Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom, wants to curb the number of international students and in particular, the number of dependants on student visas.[23] The number of dependants accompanying international students granted visas has increased eight-fold in three years to 135,788 in 2022, with Nigerian and Indian nationals bringing the most dependants. In 2022/23, 60,923 dependants accompanied 59,053 Nigerian students and 38,990 dependants accompanied 139,539 Indian students.[24] 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.[25] 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.[26][27] Reporting from the BBC has 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.[28][29]

Braverman has 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 are concerned that this will damage the prospects of the country's 'science superpower' ambitions.[30] 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.[31]

References

  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. "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 February 2023.
  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. "International students boosted UK economy by £42bn in 2021/2 – study". The Guardian. 16 May 2023.
  7. Alan, Beattie (4 May 2023). "Fish exports are a drop in the ocean next to overseas student fees". Financial Times.
  8. Staton, Bethan (27 March 2023). "UK higher education applicants to rise to 1mn a year by 2030, warns UCAS". Financial Times.
  9. "Agents expecting to send more international students to UK". Times Higher Education. 9 August 2022.
  10. Jack, Patrick (22 August 2023). "UK gains ground on US in educating world leaders". Times Higher Education.
  11. "Where do HE students study?: Students by HE provider". HESA. HE student enrolments by HE provider. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  12. "Fact sheet: Graduate Immigration Route". UK Home Office. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  13. "3 year UK PSW for PhD students from 2021". Global Education Times. July 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
  14. "UK confirms work rights for dependants of postgraduate PSW students". Global Education Times. 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  15. "What is the income of HE providers?: Tuition fees". hesa.ac.uk. Higher Education Statistics Agency. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  16. "Chinese students 'prefer UK to other study destinations'". Times Higher Education. 22 July 2022.
  17. Jack, Patrick (18 May 2023). "OfS writes to 23 institutions over 'high levels' of Chinese students". Times Higher Education.
  18. "Overseas student recruitment windfall for leading UK universities". Times Higher Education. 18 January 2023.
  19. "English universities 'vulnerable' on overseas fee reliance". Times Higher Education. 30 June 2022.
  20. "Over-reliance on China and India leaves UK universities 'exposed'". Times Higher Education. 28 February 2023.
  21. "UK universities target overseas students from outside China". Financial Times. 19 January 2023.
  22. "India overtakes China as student migration to UK hits record high". Times Higher Education. 24 November 2022.
  23. "Suella Braverman revives Tory pledge to cut net migration to 'tens of thousands'". The Guardian. 4 October 2022.
  24. Dathan, Matt; Zeffman, Henry (19 May 2023). "Stand-off over Braverman plan to ban families of foreign students". The Times.
  25. Wood, Poppy (30 March 2023). "Jeremy Hunt locks horns with Suella Braverman over plans to curb foreign student numbers". The i.
  26. Ogunbiyi, Ore (24 February 2023). "A young person's guide to escaping Nigeria". The Economist.
  27. Packer, Helen (21 March 2023). "Japa – the new trend driving Nigerians to study abroad?". The Pie News.
  28. "UK new migration law and how e go affect your japa plans". BBC News Pidgin. 23 May 2023.
  29. "UK immigration: YouTube influencer says 'some people hide behind studentship'". BBC News. 24 May 2023.
  30. "Science minister at odds with Braverman's student migrant cap". The Times. 11 January 2023.
  31. "Home Office to stop students from bringing family to UK in bid to curb migration". Sky News. 23 May 2023.
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