Over the last decade there has been a 48 per cent increase in American students enrolling at Scottish universities. Within this, Scottish universities have seen a 24 per cent increase in American students enrolling in postgraduate programmes since 2014/15.
The majority of these cases have been concentrated at the University of Edinburgh, with 710 postgraduate students in the 2024/25 academic year.
These statistics follow an overarching trend of Americans leaving the United States for a life across the Atlantic. Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, Scotland has experienced a 63 per cent increase in American signed tenancy agreements.
There was a similar correlation with a spike in UK visa applications following Trump’s inauguration in early 2025.
After 25 years of experience handling UK visa applications, Jacqueline Thomson – a solicitor – vocalised this growing trend to The Herald, suggesting that US ex-patriots are “genuinely” here to study.
She hinted at the shutting of the Investor visa programme in 2022, which allowed a payment of £2m to ensure residency, causing student visas to become a more explored route for retired pensioners to be able to live in Scotland.
Given that after a masters or PhD, the Graduate Visa pathway allows international students to live and work in the UK for two to three years post-graduation, postgraduate programmes are an attractive proposal for those wishing to move to Scotland.
Similarly, the accelerated one year masters programme provides an alternative for the dissolved retirement visa protocol, echoing Thompson’s earlier suggestion. Ultimately, these American pensioners are proving it’s not too late to trade the American dream for a Scottish degree.
Photo by Centre for Ageing Better on Unsplash.
