UUKi responds to media speculation regarding international students

'International students make a huge positive contribution to our universities and to the UK economy, with government figures showing that they added £19.5 billion to the economy in 2020 - representing 76% of all education export earnings.* It is vital that government does not introduce policies that create lasting damage to the UK’s global reputation and competitiveness, and to local economies up and down the country.

For many years, the visa and immigration environment meant that levels of international recruitment to the UK stagnated while other countries saw huge growth. This placed the UK at a strategic disadvantage, representing lost opportunities for collaboration, lost talent that could contribute to our universities and businesses, and lost economic growth. In essence, government made a deliberate policy choice not to take advantage of a national strength – to put students off, rather than attracting them to the UK.

To rectify this, in 2019 the UK government published an International Education Strategy and introduced the Graduate route, which allows international students to work in the UK for up to two or three years after graduation. These welcome changes recognised the immense contribution that international students can make to our country. They ensured that the UK could once again become a global leader in international higher education and have been critical in supporting the sector’s efforts to diversify international recruitment. 

We strongly urge the government not to reverse course. Our universities know that recruitment must be sustainable, and they will continue to work with their local and regional partners to ensure that they have the capacity to welcome and support international students and provide a world-class experience. But a repeating pattern of boom and bust in international recruitment would be a big mistake. We need stable and well managed policy which keeps the UK attractive while ensuring that we continue to demonstrate exceptionally high levels of compliance with all visa and immigration requirements.

The ability to bring dependents is already restricted to postgraduate courses, and students must demonstrate that they have the financial resources to support themselves and their families. We urge government to work with the sector to address and mitigate any concerns at local or national level in a balanced, constructive manner - rather than considering blunt bans that have the potential to adversely affect the UK’s reputation, our economy, and our relationships with key partners such as India and Nigeria. 

There are clearly areas where we would support reforms. We would welcome the proposals to end switching from student and work visas where students have not completed their course. This would close an unhelpful loophole and ensure that international students that choose the UK finish their programmes before they are able to move into full-time employment. 

We would also welcome changes to the reporting of immigration statistics to recognise that most international students are temporary migrants who complete their studies then return home. A more nuanced presentation of the data would help government demonstrate the unique nature of international student mobility and allow a more informed public debate around immigration.

However, any threat to remove or limit the Graduate route would severely impact on our ability to recruit international students and, ultimately, have a significant negative impact on the UK’s economic growth. Access to the Graduate route is restricted to students that have successfully completed their course of study, at institutions that meet robust standards. To restrict this offer would be hugely damaging to our competitiveness and to the reputation of the UK as an open and welcoming country. It would mean that the UK is curtailing our ability to recruit and educate the global talent our universities and businesses need - while countries such as the US, Canada and Australia actively look to enhance their offer to international students.

The focus of government and universities should be on working collaboratively to deliver sustainable growth which supports our shared ambitions - set out so clearly in the International Education Strategy - for the benefit of students, universities, and the UK.' 

*UK revenue from education related exports and transnational education activity, published 15 December 2022: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/uk-revenue-from-education-related-exports-and-transnational-education-activity/2020