A growing number of international students are using universities as a “backdoor route” to settlement in the UK, a bombshell report suggests. The paper, from right-wing think tank Policy Exchange, has shed light on an under-publicised means of migration which the Government has not yet gone “far enough” to tackle. The think tank said people were using the student visa as a pathway to longer-term migration, and called for the graduate visa route, which enables international students to stay in the UK after their studies, to be scrapped for all but those on postgraduate research degrees.
The number of international students in the UK rose by 66% between 2014/15 and 2023/24, according to the paper, with 40% of arrivals transferring to a different type of visa in 2023 – up from just 3% in 2019. While conversations about immigration have tended to focus on stopping illegal arrivals via small boats, the report’s author, Zachary Marsh, has called on the Government to “clamp down further” on those “gaming the system” through the university system.
Labour announced plans to reduce the graduate visa route in May, cutting the time overseas students can live and work in the UK for after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Changes by the former Conservative Government in January 2024 also largely banned international students from bringing dependants with them to the UK, with the exceptions of some postgraduate research courses and courses with government-funded scholarships.
“Most fundamentally, the purpose of student migration should be to study, not to provide a backdoor route to longer-term migration or settlement,” the paper said.
“Yet increasingly, studying in the UK has become a pathway for widespread and sustained immigration.”
Mr Marsh, a research fellow in education at the Policy Exchange, added: “UK universities must return to the business of selling education, not immigration.
“Whilst international students can provide valuable economic benefits, the current system drives migration by those who have no interest in study but instead see the student and graduate visa as an open door to working in the UK.
“The Government and universities must go firther to clamp down on those gaming the system. A more muscular approach is needed to restore public confidence that international students are good for our universities and wider economy and society.”
Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group, told the PA News Agency that the UK needs to “maintain an attractive offer for international students” amid “an increasingly competitive global market”.
“We know that international student recruitment, like any immigration policy, needs to be robust and fair to maintain people’s trust in the system,” he added.
“Our universities are committed to working with Government to eliminate any abuse of the system and ensure places go to those who are here to study and meet the standards needed to succeed on their course.”
A Government spokesperson said: “A series of measures have already been laid out in the Immigration White Paper to restore control over the system, including reducing the graduate visa from two years to 18 months.
“We will also ensure international graduates move into graduate level roles. This is what the Graduate route was created to facilitate access to, and will also help meet the UK’s workforce needs, as part of our Plan for Change.
“We will also crack down further on abuse of our immigration system by strengthening requirements for universities, requiring tighter enforcement on visa approvals, course enrolments and student completions whilst continuing to welcome international students that support our world-leading universities.”