Work, study and asylum claims in the UK will be scrutinized going forward.
The UK’s international student enrolment figures have taken a significant hit, with fresh data from 2023/24 showing a year-on-year decline of 30,000, bringing the total number down to 730,000.
The dip follows growing political pressure to slash net migration and heightened scrutiny of foreign students especially from countries with high asylum or visa overstay rates.
While postgraduate students continue to make up the bulk of international enrolments, representing nearly 60% of the cohort, this dominant presence is now under threat, as the UK government prepares to unveil new visa restrictions targeting nations perceived as high-risk for immigration abuse. Among the countries reportedly in the firing line are Pakistan, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka.
The proposed measures are expected to make it harder for nationals of these countries to enter the UK for education. Plans also include tightening the post-study graduate route, requiring international graduates to secure a graduate-level job based on skill criteria, rather than salary, if they wish to remain in the country.
A Home Office spokesperson said the forthcoming immigration white paper would “restore order to our broken immigration system,” noting efforts to use intelligence-led profiling to detect individuals likely to abuse work or study routes.
But critics are alarmed. London Higher, which represents universities across the capital, warned the moves “run the risk of being discriminatory” and may stem more from political expediency than sound policy. The group also cautioned against sacrificing long-term economic gains by throttling international talent pathways.
“In an age of ‘going for growth,’ the government should be shoring-up pathways for international talent, not sacrificing long-term economic benefits for political expediency,” London Higher stated.
At the centre of the debate is the upcoming immigration white paper, which aims to chart a path toward reducing net migration—estimated at 728,000 in the year ending June 2024, down from a record 906,000 the year before. A near-total ban on student dependants contributed to the drop, but new measures appear set to go even further.
As part of the political pushback, the government is under pressure from Reform UK’s recent electoral gains and criticism over asylum numbers, which hit over 108,000 in 2023—with Pakistan topping the list.
Still, experts caution against politicising data. Brian Bell, chair of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), slammed calls to remove students from net migration counts, arguing it’s a decision for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), not government ministers.
“People should stop wasting their time asking for international students to be taken out of migration statistics,” Bell warned. “It’s not going to happen.”
He added that setting a precedent for altering official statistics based on political convenience could erode the integrity of public data in the long term.
As the UK gears up to publish its migration white paper, universities and student advocates brace for what could be a pivotal moment for global education—and the country’s reputation as a welcoming hub for international talent.
