I am a 3rd generation international student; both my grandfathers studied in the UK graduating in the early 1930s, my mother graduated in the 1950s and I graduated in the 1980s. For the past few years, I have been President of UKCISA (UK Council on International Student Affairs) which looks after the interests of all international students across all universities in the UK, and I am also Co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Students.
UK universities are the highest ranked in the world along with the USA and historically the UK has been the 2nd most popular destination for international students in the world with America leading the way. In recent years we have increasingly had to compete not only with the USA but also with Australia and Canada as well as EU countries, it is a global race. When I lectured at Dhaka University last month and asked the students there how many of them wanted to study in the UK, most if not all hands went up. During the State visit of the South African President in November, the President said on more than one occasion, how keen he was for more South African students to study in the UK. International students contribute £30 billion to the UK economy directly and indirectly including through their fees, living expenses as well as the revenues brought in by their family and friends who visit them while they are in the UK. HEPI (Higher Education Policy Institute) reports that on average every part of the UK is financially better off, average, by £390 per person as a direct result of international students. They also add hugely to UK universities by enriching the experience of our domestic students. In addition, they build generation-long links with their countries and there are more world leaders who have been educated at UK universities than in any other country in the world along with the USA. UK universities and our international students are one of the strongest elements of our soft power as a country.
In 2007 I initiated and spearheaded the implementation of the 2-year postgraduate work visa for international students. This was taken away in 2012 when Teressa May was Home Secretary and in our 2018 report, the APPG for International Students called for a reinstitution of the two-year postgraduate work visa and for the government to have a target for the number of international students. The government listened and imposed a target of 600,000 international students, we have now beaten that target despite the pandemic. The government also listened and last year reinstated the 2-year postgraduate work visa and 3 years for PhD students. As a result, the number of international students from India has increased exponentially and the Indian students have now overtaken the Chinese as the largest number of international students in the UK. All international students must pay a fee to use the NHS and postgraduate international students are allowed to bring dependents for the tenure of their degree.
The reality is that the vast majority of international students go back to their country of origin, and it is a tiny minority who overstay. Based on Home Office data from exit checks, the Oxford Migration Observatory reports that at least 98% of non-EU students leave the UK on time and before their visa expires. Last week the government released the latest net migration figures showing net migration for the year until June 2022 exceeding 500,000 and there has been a knee-jerk response with suggestions of international student numbers to be reduced including only elite universities. This is very worrying and completely damaging to our economy and to our universities and is backward looking. For a start, the APPG has been saying for years that international students should not be included in the net migration figures. The government responds by saying that they have to include them as immigrants as international students stay in the country for at least 1 year however many other countries when calculating their net migration figures do not include them as on the whole they are not immigrants and return to their home country after their studies.
If you exclude international students, the net migration figure comes down drastically and is nowhere near as alarming as it is being made out to be. In fact, we need to do the opposite, I have been calling for the government to increase the target of international students from 600,000 to 1 million by 2030. Over and above all of this the fees international students bring into all universities is crucial to their finances as international students pay a much higher amount, at least more than double that of domestic students. To talk about restricting international students to elite universities is completely wrong as all the approximately 150 certified and authorised universities in the UK are relatively of a very high standard globally. And of course, our best universities are amongst the best in the world; in the latest QS rankings, 4 out of the top 10 universities globally were from the UK, including my alma mater Cambridge University and 17 out of the top 100 in the world are UK universities including the University of Birmingham where I am proud to be Chancellor. Isn’t this amazing given that the UK is less than 1% of the world’s 8 billion population? To this day my 86-year-old mother keeps in touch with her friends from Birmingham University from over 6 decades ago. These are life and generation-long friendships and relationships which are priceless. International students in their future careers will always have an affinity towards the UK and London has been ranked as the number 1 city for international students overall, they have a wonderful experience in the UK. We should be grateful for and proud of our international students.
