International students in the United Kingdom

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%

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

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

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]

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]