Overseas students using higher education as ‘backdoor' to stay in UK
The current model is 'not working' as individuals are using the student visa as a route to longer-term migration, the report has suggested.
In May, the Labour Government announced plans to reduce the graduate visa route, which allows overseas students to live and work in the UK for up to two years after their studies, to 18 months.
Under changes introduced by the former Conservative government in January 2024, international students in the UK have been banned from bringing dependants with them since – apart from some postgraduate research courses or courses with government-funded scholarships.
But the report said the changes do not go 'far enough' and it called for bolder action to ensure study at UK universities is not 'a migration backdoor'.
The paper said: 'Most fundamentally, the purpose of student migration should be to study, not to provide a backdoor route to longer term migration or settlement.
'Yet increasingly studying in the UK has become a pathway for widespread and sustained immigration.'
The number of international students in the UK increased by 66% between 2014/15 and 2023/24, the report suggested.
Two in five (40%) of those who arrived on student visas transferred to a different visa type within one year in 2023 – up from just 3% in 2019, according to the paper.
Zachary Marsh, research fellow in education at Policy Exchange and author of the report, said: '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 further 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.'
The report has also suggested that overseas students 'may be crowding out UK students' at some universities.
Shadow education minister Neil O'Brien is due to address a Policy Exchange event in London on Wednesday on higher education and migration to coincide with the launch of the think tank's report.
Mr O'Brien is expected to say: 'It's not just taxpayers who are losing out.
'The current system isn't working for too many students, who are promised great things but find themselves having to pay back huge sums on very low wages.
'Too many students are being ripped off and we have to ask whether there are better uses of taxpayers' money that will leave young people better off.'
Tim Bradshaw, chief executive of the Russell Group, a group of 24 research-intensive universities, said: 'In an increasingly competitive global market, the UK needs to maintain an attractive offer for international students.
'This includes the graduate visa route, which allows international graduates to remain in the UK to work and contribute to the economy for a period after their studies.
'We know that international student recruitment, like any immigration policy, needs to be robust and fair to maintain people's trust in the system.
'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.'
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