The number of graduate study visas for the academic year 2023/24 have dropped by over a third from what they were in the year 2022/23.
This trend is set against the backdrop of the UK Government seeking to lower immigration numbers.
The UK Government has altered the graduate study visa scheme drastically as net immigration, which counts overseas students, lowered to 600,000 in 2023 from 700,000 in 2022.
A policy brought forward prevents international students from bringing dependents with them unless they are studying for a research postgraduate visa.
The visa drop is a significant issue for universities where international student fees are higher than domestic fees, providing greater revenue for the universities.
Vivienne Stern MBE, the chief exec of UUK (the Universities UK Union) has called for a greater understanding of the economic benefits of overseas students coming to study in the UK.
Analysis has shown that since the launch of the government’s International Education Strategy in 2019, growth in international student recruitment to the UK has delivered a boost of more than £60 billion to the UK’s economy.
“London” by barnyz is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.