As the product of a marriage between a Sudanese sent to do an MSc in Economics at the University of Leeds in the early 1950s, and an English Sociology undergraduate at the same university, I have always taken a positive view of the movement of young academics from the Global South, to study in the great universities of the developed world. It seemed to me to be a win for everyone, the brightest young people coming and contributing to cutting edge research and taking home new skills to developing nations and building economic and cultural links with the metropolis. In the case of my father, he went on to complete a PhD at LSE and returned to Sudan, eventually becoming Vice Chancellor of the University of Khartoum and later worked as a UNESCO expert, planning universities in Liberia and Bahrain.
However, with the emergence of populist narratives in the West on the issue of immigration- international university students find themselves in the middle of a political debate and tug-of-war between governments and universities, as they inadvertently fall into same category as asylum seekers and economic refugees who have become a pressing political issue in Europe, North America and Australia.
This blog examines the confused landscape of some political parties’ and governments’ positioning on the subject of immigration. They appear unable to resist scoring political points by conflating economic migrants and asylum seekers with the temporary immigration of international students who pay in full the costs of their education, build strong economic links with their home countries and help fulfil employers’ needs to attract the best people in order to be competitive in world markets.
Initially puzzled by the categorisation of international university students as ‘immigrants’, I learned that the UK’s Office for National Statistics applies the UN recommended definition of a long-term international migrant as “a person who moves to a country other than that of his or her usual residence for a period of at least a year (12 months), so that the country of destination effectively becomes his or her new country of usual residence”1. This definition appears to be widely accepted, despite lumping together totally different categories of migrants.
The question then becomes why Western governments, in their drive to reduce immigration flows that appear to be beyond their control, target the type that IS under their control, and restrict the numbers of clearly legal and economically beneficial immigrants? This is despite universities, in which the research of the nation is based, being in desperate need, not only of the financial support but also the international competitiveness that comes from attracting some of the brightest minds on the planet.
United Kingdom
The UK lost huge numbers of EU students post-Brexit, 50% between 2020 and 20221 when shifted to international fees status costing up to three times the domestic rate of £9,250, frozen since October 2017.
In a clear move to target international student numbers in order to reduce overall migration figures, James Cleverly, the fifth Home Secretary in the last 18 months, introduced new restrictions on dependents travelling with postgraduate students from January 2024, and on December 4th announced a review of the post-study work visa, (only recently reintroduced in 2021, having been cancelled in 2012)2.
British Universities reacted with some alarm to these announcements. Recent Times Higher Education issues are awash with articles by university heads stressing the benefits of international students to both the universities and the economy in general.
Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, pointed out that “International students make a net economic contribution to the UK of around £40 billion a year, and this benefits the whole of the UK3.
UCAS figures show 2022-23 year saw a record fall in UK international student university rates4. Janet Ilieva, of Education Insight, noted the continued decline in EU demand and no growth in students from the rest of the world indicating the UK’s attractiveness as a global study destination has been “undermined”, adding that “A sector-wide effort is required to convince global learners the UK welcomes them.5”
Despite previous politicians claiming that numbers of students overstaying visas were in six figures, most recent ONS figures show that only 4,617 did so and that 97.5% of international students from outside the EU left before their visa expired with the majority of those who overstayed only doing so for a few months; the highest rate of compliance of any visa category6.
Australia
In a new migration policy released on 11 December 2023, the federal government rescinded the extensions to post-study work permits that it had introduced only 15 months previously7 – reducing from 4, 5 and 6 years for BA, MA or PhDs respectively, to 2 or 3 years. and slashing the age limit for temporary graduate visa applicants from 50 to 35. A suggested levy on international student fees is under discussion, with considerable support, and is fueling uncertainty across the Higher Education sector in Australia8.
Netherlands
The recent victory of the far-right leader Geert Wilders, has raised concerns that his future coalition government will carry out punitive policies based on campaign rhetoric such as, “The universities must first and foremost be there for our children. The PVV therefore wants student migration to be severely limited,”. A 14th Dec 2023 survey of 1,330 international students by six independent university newspapers found that respondents moved from 70% feeling ‘totally welcome’ to 55%9. Half mentioned the reason as being the political climate. International students at University of Twente dropped from 68% feeling very welcome to only 40%10. University leaders have attempted to reassure students with the Assistant Professor of Political Sociology Benjamin Leruth at Groningen publishing on social media, ‘Yesterday’s results sent shockwaves across the Netherlands and Europe. In these uncertain times there is one simple message to our students: You belong. You matter. You are valued.’ . The President of the University of Twente, himself an immigrant of 8 years standing, wrote after the election, ’Together we stand up against exclusion and ensure that the social and political debate does not separate us from each other.11’
Canada
August 2023 saw the Canadian Immigration minister discussing the possibility of introducing a cap on International student numbers, which recently sky-rocketed to 900,000 (three times 2013 numbers) not only because of oft-heard concerns about strained housing markets, but also because of the ‘integrity’ of the immigration system12. Similarly to the UK, Netherlands and Australia, universities remain opposed to any cap. Philip Landon, CEO at Universities Canada, pushed back on the idea; “I think we can say that the housing situation is a crisis for Canadians broadly…I do not think that the blaming newcomers or international students … is the right way to go.13“
United States of America
The USA Is the only western nation bucking this political trend towards limiting or restricting international students influxes. This despite immigration being the number one issue for 28% of Americans in the upcoming presidential election1. Foreign student enrolment in US colleges peaked at 1.1 million in the 2018-19 school year, but with the pandemic plummeted by 20% in 2020-21- representing 10 billion dollars in lost revenue, raising alarms in the USA and leading Biden to declare a ‘foreign policy imperative’ that the USA remain the top study destination for international students- putting students first in line for visa processing at US consulates worldwide14.
However, with the possible re-election of Trump in 2024, and given his previous record of travel bans on Muslim-majority nations and extreme anti-immigration rhetoric, international students remain wary. US universities are very expensive, other countries have shorter, 3 year degrees, and safety is also a big concern, with gun violence scaring many families. At the same time, the rise through the rankings of universities in Asia has opened up many other options for the globally mobile student15-, especially considering that 70% of international students on US campuses are from Asia16.
These recent trends are very destabilising for international students hoping to travel abroad for their higher education. The trajectories that emerge over the next few years promise to be interesting as students from Asia, Africa and South America weigh up their options. However, given the infinite horizons of science and technology; the huge economic benefits of highly skilled international migration will endure as the driving force for top research institutions and employers around the world, who will continue to demand the brightest and the best- no matter where they are from.
- ONS Definition of Migrant ↩︎
- THE- review of post-study work visa ↩︎
- Guardian- international students visa restrictions harm ↩︎
- THE – UCAS drop of international ↩︎
- THE- loss-EU-students in Uk- ↩︎
- Govt statistics re overstay of visas ↩︎
- THE- Australia new work permit policy ↩︎
- THE- Australia proposed levy ↩︎
- UWN Dec 1st JP Myklebust ↩︎
- ukrant.nl/magazine Int student survey ↩︎
- Erasmus Magazine- challenging times for international students ↩︎
- CBC- international student cap/immigration integrity ↩︎
- CEO of Universities Canada rejects cap idea ↩︎
- NPR- Lost Revenue from US unis ↩︎
- Weforum- worlds-top-universities-Asia-2024 ↩︎
- bestcolleges-international student statistics ↩︎
