What support is available for international students?
Only students who are allocated home student status are eligible for publicly funded student support in the UK. This includes tuition fee loans (or in the case of Scotland, free tuition), maintenance loans, bursaries, and grants. See the Library casework article series Eligibility for home fee status and student support for more information.
For postgraduate international students, there are scholarships supported by the UK Government to cover course fees and the cost of living during study. These include Chevening Scholarships, Commonwealth Scholarships, and Marshall Scholarships. Eligibility varies and more information is available at GOV.UK.
Individual providers also offer scholarships and bursaries to attract students from overseas. These include:
• academic, merit, and excellence scholarships;
• subject-specific scholarships;
• performance-based scholarships related to extra-curricular activities;
• equal access or sanctuary scholarships for refugees and asylum seekers.
More information is available in a guide produced by UCAS.
I am a British citizen so why have I been classified as an international student?
The student support regulations state students must meet two main criteria to be classified as a home student:
• the correct immigration status (right of abode, or indefinite leave to remain);
• three-year residency in the UK.
Students who do not meet either of these criteria can be classified as an international student even if they are UK citizens.
Following Brexit, however, UK nationals and their family members living in the EEA or Switzerland who start a course between 1 August 2021 and 1 January 2028 may also be eligible for home student status. See the Library casework article series Eligibility for home fee status and student support for more information.
The costs and benefits of international students to the UK
Economic
How much is the international higher education market worth to the UK?
There have been various estimates over the years of the value of education and training ‘exports’ to the UK (overseas students studying in the UK and some training/consultancy abroad) carried out for the British Council, Universities UK, and the Government.
These cover a wide range of definitions, years, and methodologies. There is a substantial amount of uncertainty about these figures. They are highly approximate estimates only and are often made by groups with an interest in the sector. Estimates include:
• The Department for Education estimated that in 2019 higher education accounted for £17.6 billion out of a total £25.2 billion in international education exports and transnational education activity. £7.4 million of the higher education total was in tuition fees, £8.4 billion in living expenditure and £1.6 billion in research contracts.59
• Data from the Department for Education revealed the living expenses of incoming Erasmus+ students amounted to £440 million in 2018, which was a 71% increase since 2010.60
• In 2011, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) estimated that the total value of higher education exports to the UK in 2008/09 was £7.8 billion. It projected that this would grow to £10.4 billion by 2015 and £13.2 billion by 2020. In 2013, BIS put the total at £10.2 billion in 2011; 2.1% of UK exports.61
In 2017, Universities UK published research on the subject that put the total value in 2014-15 at £25.8 billion. 62 As with the other estimates, this includes direct spending by students on and off-campus and the indirect ‘knock-on’ effect of this spending on the economy. It also includes an estimate of the impact of visitors to the UK linked to international students.
The report also estimated that international students were ‘responsible’ for £10.8 billion of UK export earnings and their spending supported just over 200,000 jobs. The component parts of the £25.8 billion are:
• £4.8 billion generated in fees;
• £5.4 billion off-campus spending by students;
• £0.7 billion on-campus spending (excluding fees);
• £13.5 billion in the knock-on economic benefit of this spending (‘gross output supported);
• £0.5 billion direct spending by visitors to international students;
• £1.0 billion in knock-on economic benefit from visitor spending.
A September 2021 London Economics report for Universities UK International and the Higher Education Policy Institute estimated the 2018/19 first-year cohort of international students in the UK would bring total economic benefits to the UK of £28.8 billion over the course of their studies.63 21% of this was generated by EU students with the rest from non-EU students.
The authors estimated the economic costs of these students at £2.9 billion. This included the teaching grant and student support for EU students, and costs of providing public services to international students and their dependents.
The net economic benefits of this cohort was thus estimated at £25.9 billion. The report also made estimates of the net economic benefit per student and used these, combined with data on where all students live, to estimate the benefit in each Parliamentary Constituency across the country.
Non-economic
Research conducted by the Higher Education Policy Institute in 2015 revealed international students generated significant geopolitical benefits for the UK, with 55 world leaders (Presidents, Prime Ministers and monarchs) from 51 countries having attended higher-level education in the UK.65
These personal connections are likely to be an important contributor to the UK’s ‘soft power’ (the ability to influence the behaviour of others to achieve preferential outcomes), and help to build long-term social, political, and trade links with other countries.
What do international students contribute to the UK higher education experience?
A survey by the Higher Education Policy Institute, ‘What do home students think of studying with international students?’, asked students studying in the UK for their views on international students.
• 76% of students surveyed said studying alongside their peers from overseas would give them a better world view;
• 85% said it would be useful preparation for working in a global environment;
• 63% said it will help them develop a global network.67 Alongside these benefits, however:
• 25% of students felt including students who did not have English as their first language slowed down the class;
• 12% felt academic discussions were of a lower quality due to the presence of international students in UK higher education.
Conversely, 65% of students either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the latter statement.
In February 2019, the House of Lords European Union Committee detailed a number of the benefits that Erasmus+ participants brought to the UK, including:
• a “global, outward-looking culture” on campuses;
• a higher standard of UK education and training through international collaboration, and the sharing of innovation and best practice;
• “tangible economic benefits” through money spent in local economies.6
Sources of further information:
• Universities UK International.
• Universities UK International, International facts and figures 2022, June 2022.
• Universities UK International, International student recruitment data, July 2022.
• UCAS, Where Next? – What influences the choices international students make?, May 2022.
• Higher Education Statistics Agency, Higher education student data: Where do HE students come
from?, February 2022.
• Office for National Statistics, Visa journeys and student outcomes, November 2021.
• London Economics, The costs and benefits of international higher education students to the UK
economy, September 2021.
• Higher Education Policy Institute, The UK’s tax revenues from international students post-
graduation, March 2019.
• Migration Advisory Committee, Impact of international students in the UK, September 2018.
• Higher Education Policy Institute, The costs and benefits of international students by parliamentary
constituency, January 2018.
• Universities UK, The economic impact of international students, March 2017.
• IPPR, Destination Education: Reforming Migration Policy in International Students to Grow the
UK’s Vital Education Exports (PDF), September 2016.
International student recruitment data
Universities UK
Last updated on Friday 3 Mar 2023 at 9:37am
Key facts:
- In 2021-22 there were 679,970 international students studying in the UK. 120,140 of these were from the EU and 559,825 were non-EU.
- In the year ending September 2022, there were 463,315 sponsored study visas granted. This is the highest annual number of study visas granted on record and represents both a recovery from the lower number of visas granted during the Covid-19 pandemic but also an increase on pre-pandemic levels.
*Data on the international student population and enrolments was calculated from HESA’s Higher Education Student Statistics for the UK, 2021/22
International student recruitment data (universitiesuk.ac.uk)
Source: HESA. Higher Education Student Statistics: UK, 2021-22. Where do students come from?. Accessed Online: February 2023.
According to HESA the number of new enrolments for the top 10 sending countries to the UK in 2021-22 were:
- China (99,965)
- India (87,045)
- Nigeria (32,945)
- Pakistan (16,550)
- United States (13,550)
- Bangladesh (9,170)
- Hong Kong (8,170)
- Malaysia (5,665)
- Ireland (4,415)
- France (4,355)
Postgraduate taught (PGT) vs postgraduate research (PGR), total enrolments:
The postgraduate student population totalled 372,500 in 2021-22 (up 23.8% on 2020-21). When we break down this population by PGT and PGR courses, we can see that this growth was driven by non-EU PGT students. The non-EU PGT student population (303,375) increased by 42.8% between 2020-21 and 2021-22, while non-EU PGR students (35,145) increased by just 4.1% while EU PGT students (22,775) and EU PGR students decreased by 22.6% and 14% respectively.
Postgraduate taught (PGT) vs postgraduate research (PGR), first enrolments: In 2021-22, first year postgraduate enrolments grew from outside the EU but fell sharply from within the EU. EU first year PGT enrolments dropped by 38.2% while EU PGR enrolments fell by 41.5%. Growth in non-EU first year PGR enrolments was modest at 4.5%, while growth in non-EU first year PGT enrolments was anything but at 45.3%.
How many students applied for the Graduate route and where do they come from?
Source: The Home Office
The Graduate route was introduced on 1 July 2021. The new Graduate route allows eligible students to stay in the UK for a period of 2 or 3 years after successfully completing their studies to work or look for work.
The latest visa figures for the year ending December 2022 show:
- 72,893 individuals were granted the new Graduate visa.
- The Graduate visa had a rejection rate of 1%, implying that most students that choose to apply can access the graduate route.
- Indian, Chinese, and Nigerian students form the top 3 nationalities progressing onto the graduate route and account for almost 63% of all accepted applications. Indian nationals accounted for 41% of grants.
How many international students applied to study in the UK through UCAS?
Source: UCAS (UCAS end of cycle data resources 2022)
Internationally, a total of 149,840 people of all ages applied (+5% on 2021), with 73,820 accepted (+5%). 125,820 people applied from outside the EU (+14%) with 64,285 accepted (+15%); while 24,015 people applied from within the EU (-23%) with 11,365 accepted (-28%). This year also saw the highest number of accepted applicants on record from China (+13% on 2021), India (+44%) and Nigeria (+33%).
International student recruitment data (universitiesuk.ac.uk)
International Facts and Figures 2022
UUKI Publications
Last updated on Tuesday 20 Dec 2022 at 10:24pm
This year’s report illustrates the unique context we are currently living in, and equally reminds us of the importance of international collaboration. The lasting impact of Covid-19 and the UK’s exit from the European Union is particularly evident in the outward student mobility data, with some students unable to complete their study abroad placements.
However, despite the immense challenges our sector has faced, 14,000 students were able to have a period of mobility during their degree in 2020-21. There are also many other positives, such as reaching the International Education Strategy target of 600,000 international students a decade early and an increase in international academic staff working at UK universities. Institutions continue to innovate and find new solutions. 162 UK universities delivered TNE in over 225 countries and territories worldwide, our highest reach yet. The UK also remains a popular collaborative partner for international research, with 60.4% of the UK’s research output having an international co-author.
International students
In 2020-21, the UK welcomed 605,130 international students, reaching the 600,000 target (UK government International Education Strategy 2019/2021) almost a decade earlier than the 2030 deadline (HESA, 2022).
International students accounted for 22.0% of the total student population in 2020-21. 15.7% of all undergraduates and 39.1% of all postgraduates were international students (HESA, 2022).
The UK dropped to the third most popular study destination for international students in 2019 as Australia overtook the UK for the first time (UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2021).
The total gross benefit of the 2018-19 cohort of international students to the UK economy was estimated at £28.8 billion. On average, international students made a £40m net economic contribution to the UK economy per parliamentary constituency. This is equivalent to £390 per member of the resident population (after all costs have been accounted for) (London Economics, 2021).