UK Study Visa Applications Plummet to Record Lows
New government data has revealed that the number of international students intending to study in the UK has dropped to record lows since the pandemic.
Data has shown that applicants intending on studying in the UK have fallen to 34,000 in the first three months of 2024. In 2022, the same period saw just under 47,000 applicants.
After new government rules banning master’s students from bringing dependents came into force on January 1, dependent applications have fallen from 23,800 in the first three months of 2022 (January, February, March), to only 6,700 in the first three months of this year.
The Home Office says that it is necessary to wait for the peak in student applications for the next academic year in August or September to see “the full effect of recent policy changes and any other impacts”.
The US has overtaken the UK as the top preferred study destination.
IDP Connect’s latest study ranked the US as the top choice among over 11,500 prospective students from 117 countries – surpassing Australia, Canada, and the UK for the first time.
Similarly, earlier assessments by AECC and Oxford International Education Services highlighted the rising popularity of destinations like New Zealand, Germany, and the US, particularly among Indian students.
Diana Beech, CEO of London Higher, claims that the drop demonstrates:
“The real effect that changes to the dependant visa, the recent increase to application fees and health surcharges, and the graduate visa review are having on the confidence international students have in the UK.”
“Unfortunately, we don’t know how many of the ‘brightest and best’ have been deterred from applying to the UK as a result, but it is now clear that the US has overtaken us as the top preferred study destination.”
UK business schools are also noticing the effects of the dependants ban this year.
Just over three quarters (76%) of 50 UK institutions responding to a Chartered Association of Business Schools survey said that their non-EU enrolments had fallen in the January 2024 intake.
And a Universities UK survey of 73 member universities found that on average, international student enrolments in postgraduate-taught courses starting in January 2024 were 44% lower than in January 2023.
Chair of the Chartered Association of Business Schools and Pro-Vice Chancellor for the School of Business and Law at Northumbria University, Robert Macintosh, said:
“These latest results show the potential for the government’s immigration policies to severely damage one of the UK’s most successful exports.
“The decline in international business student enrolments will limit a vital source of universities’ income which underpins the cost of teaching and research across subject areas far beyond business and management.”
UK universities are currently bracing themselves for the results of the government review of the Graduate Route.
London Higher says it sees no reason why additional changes should be made to the Graduate Route. Beech concurs:
“We know the government had concerns about the amount of dependants entering the country and this move has reduced them.
“We now see no reason why there should be any additional changes imposed to the graduate route, so we hope to see a positive recommendation from the MAC on this in a few weeks’ time.
“We also hope this will be considered fairly by government without pandering to popular politics.”
The review is set to be released by 14th of May this year.
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