Cutting overseas student numbers will cost UK billions

21 Feb 11
Proposals to restrict entry for overseas university students will cost the UK economy billions of pounds, and all in ‘pursuit of artificial immigration targets’, according to a leading think-tank.

By Lucy Phillips

22 February 2010

Proposals to restrict entry for overseas university students will cost the UK economy billions of pounds, and all in ‘pursuit of artificial immigration targets’, according to a leading think-tank.

An analysis by the Institute for Public Policy Research found that government plans to reduce student immigration would have a short-lived impact on total net migration. It says only a small proportion of overseas students stay in the UK permanently, meaning emigration would also decline in the long term.

The think-tank agrees with attempts by the coalition to crack down on student visa fraud. But it warns that tens of thousands of genuine international students also risk being turned away from British universities, which would have little effect on net immigration in the long run.

It estimates that international students contribute up to £10bn a year to the UK economy through university fees and direct spending. 

The government has pledged to cut annual net migration to the UK ‘from hundreds of thousands to tens of thousands’. It is also consulting on plans to cut visas for non-European Union students who are studying below degree level and to raise their English language requirement.   

Sarah Mulley, associate director at the IPPR, said: ‘The government will not reduce immigration in a big way by tackling student visa cheats. To meet their election pledge, they will have to significantly reduce the number of legitimate students, and their proposals would do just that. This will cause real damage to the education sector and the wider British economy, all in pursuit of an artificial migration target.’

The report Student migration in the UK also warns that universities and colleges would be badly hit by the changes, at a time when funding is already being squeezed. The potential impacts could include job losses, cuts to courses and departments and increased fees for domestic students.

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