Britain should avoid further restricting international student numbers or some universities may collapse, a government-commissioned report said on Tuesday, after foreign registrations plummeted for next year.
\nHigh levels of legal migration have long dominated Britain\u2019s political discourse and were one of the major drivers for the Brexit referendum in 2016.
\nAlong with care staff and low-salaried workers, the government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sought to reduce the number of students coming to Britain, including preventing some post-graduate students from bringing family members.
\nThe Migration Advisory Committee, an independent body which gives the government advice, said the number of international postgraduate students paying deposits to study at British universities this September had dropped by 63%, compared with the previous year, after the government put restrictions on education visas.
\nThe report warned that further restrictions on the so-called graduate route, which allows foreign students to work in Britain for up to two years after graduation, would lead to job losses, course closures and a risk \u201cthat some institutions would fail\u201d.
\nBritain boasts some of the most famous and sought after universities in the world, from Oxford and Cambridge to Imperial College London. Business leaders argue that they boost innovation, increase creativity and provide a form of soft power, as many world leaders have studied at British colleges.
\nThe government commissioned the review after concerns that the graduate visa route was being abused. Some British politicians have complained that some students are applying for visas and then claim asylum or overstay.
\nEsther McVey, a minister in Sunak\u2019s cabinet, said on Monday that some British universities were \u201cselling immigration to international students rather than education\u201d.
\nA spokesman for Sunak said the government would consider the report and respond. But the spokesman highlighted concerns about the scheme, pointing out that more than 40% of international students using the route were either not working or earning below 15,000 pounds ($18,834) a year after graduation.
\nThe Migration Advisory Committee found there was no evidence of widespread abuse specifically for the graduate route. Students from four countries \u2013 India, Nigeria, China and Pakistan \u2013 account for 70% of graduate visas.
\nBritish business lobby group, the CBI, said British universities were one of the country\u2019s biggest export successes, and with the Migration Advisory Committee saying the system was not being abused \u201cit\u2019s time to put its future beyond doubt and end this period of damaging speculation.\u201d
\n(Reuters)international students. international student numbers, government-commissioned report, restrictions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Britain should avoid further restricting international student numbers to prevent universities from collapsing, as foreign registrations for next year have plummeted. The government has sought to reduce the number of students coming to Britain, including preventing some post-graduate students from bringing family members. The Migration Advisory Committee warned that more restrictions on the graduate route could lead to job losses, course closures, and potential institution failures. The committee found no evidence of widespread abuse in the graduate route, with students from India, Nigeria, China, and Pakistan accounting for 70% of graduate visas. The CBI emphasized the importance of British universities as a major export success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":11796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1521,4093,1794,2720,195,461,186,4844,3345,486,464,4369,5702,2577,612,405,1610,2459,4081,415,9969,1795,1823,937,63,613,2828,187,9968,3940,450,821,6302,1012,4541,7567,1004,1792,7727,4620,2599,1958,4054,1959,6958,3378,3773,494,1001,38,9204,18],"class_list":["post-11795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-1521","tag-abuse","tag-asylum","tag-brexit","tag-britain","tag-british","tag-business","tag-business-leaders","tag-cabinet","tag-china","tag-closures","tag-collapse","tag-committee","tag-concerns","tag-deposits","tag-education","tag-evidence","tag-family","tag-future","tag-government","tag-government-commissioned-report","tag-immigration","tag-increase","tag-india","tag-innovation","tag-insider-economy","tag-institutions","tag-international","tag-international-student-numbers","tag-leaders","tag-london","tag-migration","tag-nigeria","tag-numbers","tag-pakistan","tag-politicians","tag-power","tag-prime-minister","tag-referendum","tag-report","tag-restrictions","tag-rishi-sunak","tag-risk","tag-speculation","tag-student","tag-students","tag-sunak","tag-uk","tag-universities","tag-visa","tag-workers","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n