International students in UK higher education

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Overseas student numbers

In 2024/25 there were 685,565 overseas students studying at UK higher education providers or 24% of the total student population. 63,600 of these students were from the EU and 622,000 from outside the EU. The total was down 10% from the 2022/23 record high. Overseas student numbers have now fallen for two years in a row. The only other time they have fallen since the current higher education sector was created (in the early 1990s) was for a single year in 2012/13.

In 2017/18, the number of new overseas entrants to UK universities was around 254,000. Increases over the following five years saw their numbers reach a record of 459,200 in 2022/23, before falling to 427,600 in 2023/24 and 404,555 in 2024/25.

The top sending countries for overseas entrants have changed recently.

• India sent the most students to the UK in 2024/25 with almost 95,000 entrants. This was more than seven times the number of entrants from India in 2017/18, despite a fall in the most recent two years.
• China had sent the most students to the UK for more than a decade, but new entrants have fallen in some recent years and were 93,600 in 2024/25.
• Rapid increases in entrants from Nigeria since 2017/18 had seen it move into third place in 2022/23, but entrants have fallen by more than half over the last two years.
• The total number of EU entrants increased gradually in the late 2010s before falling sharply by 53% in 2021/22 (when funding rules and visa requirements changed). Numbers have continued to fall at a slower rate since then.

Source: HESA, HE student enrolments by level of study 2020/21 to 2024/25 (and earlier editions)

Source: HESA, HE student enrolments by HE provider 2014/15 to 2024/25

There are some signs that the fall in international students may have slowed down or ended. The number of student visas granted increased to a new record of around 484,000 in 2022 before falling by 19% over the following two years. However, numbers were up by just over 3% in 2025. All international students (except Irish nationals) require a visa to study at a UK higher education institution. The student visa is the main visa route for people coming to study at degree level or above.

In recent years, the UK has been the second most popular global destination for international students after the US. In 2019, it was overtaken by Australia and temporarily fell to third, before returning to second place in 2021 and 2022. Other English-speaking countries, such as New Zealand and Canada, are also seeing substantial increases in overseas students, as are European countries which are increasingly offering courses in English.

Government policy on international students

Reconciling objectives towards international students, higher education funding and immigration policy has presented challenges to successive governments.

The Labour government has sought to distance itself from what it has described as the “mixed messaging” of previous governments on international students. In July 2024, the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said the government unambiguously welcomed international students and valued their contribution to universities, communities, and the country.

However, like its predecessor, the government has concerns about misuse of student visas and the effectiveness of the graduate visa route. It is introducing measures to raise visa standards which are similar to plans outlined by the previous government.

International Education Strategy

In January 2026, the government announced a new international education strategy, which it says shifts the focus from recruiting students to growing education exports overseas. This strategy dropped the previous target of attracting 600,000 international students a year (met for the first time in 2020/21), while increasing the target for education exports from £35 billion to £40 billion per year by 2030.

Brexit

There was a sharp decline (50%) in accepted applicants for undergraduate study in the UK from EU countries in 2021/22. This was the first year after changes to visa requirements and student finance for these students. This group of entrants fell further in the following two years to its lowest level since the higher education sector was reorganised in 1994.

New students arriving from the EU to start courses from August 2021 are generally no longer eligible for home student status, which means they must pay international fees and will not qualify for tuition fee loans. Students who started courses on or before 31 July 2021 remain eligible for support for the duration of their course.

In September 2021, the Turing Scheme replaced the Erasmus+ programme in providing funding for participants in UK universities to go on international study and work placements. The Turing Scheme does not provide funding for international students to come to the UK.

Despite the government previously saying it had “no plans” for Britain to rejoin Erasmus+, the UK and EU finalised an agreement for the UK to participate in the programme from 2027. Any participation in Erasmus+ beyond 2028 will need to be agreed separately as part of the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework.

Student visa arrangements

The student visa route is the main visa category for international students coming to study at a higher education institution. How long students can stay depends on the length of their course and their previous studies in the UK. Degree-level students can usually stay for up to five years.

In July 2021, a new post-study work visa for international students opened, known as the graduate route. The graduate visa gives international students permission to stay in the UK for two years after successfully completing a course in the UK. Graduates who complete a PhD or other doctoral qualification can use the visa to stay for three years.

Recent immigration policy changes

Recent cohorts of student visa holders have been more likely to remain in the UK at the end of their studies than previous groups. This is largely due to higher rates of transition from study visas to work visa routes.

Recent governments have made a series of changes to student and graduate visa conditions, due to their concerns about how recent cohorts of international students were contributing to UK net migration figures and using post-study work routes.

The Labour government has announced some further changes. It says the measures will ensure that student visas are only given to people who genuinely want to study, and that graduates who remain in the UK contribute at an “appropriate level.” The length of the graduate visa is being reduced to 18 months for most students, and universities will face restrictions on their ability to recruit international students if they can’t satisfy stricter sponsorship compliance standards.

The government is also concerned about the proportion of student visa holders switching into the asylum route. Its response so far has included sending direct messages to students whose visas are close to expiring, and introducing a “visa brake” which prevents the issuing of new student visas to people from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan (countries assessed as having a high proportion of asylum claims to visas issued).

Funding

Research income from the EU was worth £500 million to UK universities in 2024/25, or 7% of total research income. It includes grants and contracts from EU Government bodies, charities, and the private sector. Research income from non-EU overseas sources was £661 million, or 9% of all research income in the same year.

Reductions to teaching grants, the freezing of tuition fee caps, and rising costs have meant many higher education providers have looked to the tuition fees of international students to cross-subsidise shortfalls elsewhere in budgets. International fees are not capped in the same way as the fees of ‘home’ students, and so providers can charge significantly more. In 2024/25, fee income from all international students was £12.4 billion. This was 23% of total income, up from around 5% in the mid-1990s.

Source: HESA, Tuition fees and education contracts analysed by HE provider, domicile, mode, level, source and academic year 2016/17 to 2023/24 (and earlier editions)

There are growing concerns about the reliance of some UK universities on international tuition fee income, particularly from Chinese students. In June 2022, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee warned higher education providers are potentially exposing themselves to significant financial risks should assumptions about future growth in international student numbers prove over-optimistic.

International Students Levy

From 2028/29, a new International Student Levy will require higher education providers in England to pay a flat fee of £925 per international student per year. Providers will not be charged a levy on their first 220 international students each year. The government has said the levy will fund the reintroduction of means-tested maintenance grants for students studying courses aligned with its missions and Industrial Strategy.

The government’s impact analysis estimates that the first year of the levy would raise £445 million, at a cost of £270 million to the sector, suggesting some of the cost of the levy would be passed on to students. It also estimates 14,000 fewer international students would come to study in the UK.

The costs and benefits of international students to the UK

The government estimates that higher education ‘exports’ were worth around £23.7 billion to the UK in 2022. Their real value has increased by 84% between 2010 and 2022.

Economic consultancy London Economics estimates that international students starting in 2021/22 would bring economic benefits to the UK of £41.9 billion. They cost the UK of £4.4 billion, so their net economic benefits is £37.4 billion. They said the economic impact was spread across the entire UK, with international students making a £58 million net economic contribution to the UK economy per parliamentary constituency across the duration of their studies. This is equivalent to £560 per member of the resident population.

Alongside these economic benefits, reports have suggested international students benefit the UK higher education experience by bringing an outward-looking culture to campuses and preparing students for working in a global environment. However, concerns have been raised about some international students not having the necessary English language skills to partake in classes and obtain degrees.

Since 2017, 39% of the world’s countries have had at least one very senior leader educated at a higher level in the UK. It has been argued this is an important contributor to the UK’s ‘soft power’ (the ability to influence the behaviour of others to achieve preferential outcomes), and helps to build long-term social, political, and trade links with other countries.

Local area data

There are no data showing the location of international students by local area. There are HESA data on international students by region of institution and by individual provider.