Every year, over 25,000 international students from more than 130 countries come to study in Wales. They make a significant financial contribution to the higher education sector in Wales and the Welsh economy. Their diverse perspectives enrich university campuses, creating a global learning environment that benefits all students. According to the former Minister of State for Legal Migration and the Border, Tom Pursglove MP, the updates to student visas are intended to take away institutions' capacity to damage the UK's reputation by “selling immigration not education.”
Following the introduction of new restrictions on student visa routes in January 2024, there has been a reduction in the numbers of international students coming to the UK. This article looks at those visa changes, their impact in Wales and reactions to them. A second article in this two-part series will look at support for international students studying in Wales.
Visa routes and international students
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Student Visa |
Graduate route |
Work Visas |
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The new measures restrict visa requirements for international students, allowing family members to accompany them only on post-graduate research routes. According to the previous UK Government, “the number of family members being brought to the UK by students has risen significantly”. The right for international students to switch to work visa routes before completing their studies was also removed.
The Graduate route is available to those who have completed a degree at undergraduate or postgraduate level in the UK. It allows these graduates to stay and work in the UK for 2 years (doctoral students can stay for 3 years). In March 2024, the UK Government commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to conduct a rapid review of this route. The MAC found no significant abuse and recommended the route stay open.
Those on the Graduate visa can switch to alternative routes; the most popular being the Skilled Worker visa. In April 2024, the minimum salary required for a Skilled Worker visa increased from £26,200 to £38,700.This change may pose challenges to those wishing to switch from the Graduate to the Skilled Worker route, potentially limiting employment opportunities and reducing employer sponsorship.
Further changes were made earlier this year by the previous government. These included limiting the ability of carers and senior carers to travel with dependents, mandating registration with the Care Quality Commission for all carers who sponsor migrants, and eliminating the 20% going rate discount to prevent firms from underpaying immigrants in jobs where there is a shortage.
Impact of visa changes in Wales
Since the changes to the visa route, there has been a reduction in the numbers of international students choosing to study in the UK. The Home Office received 69,500 applications in July 2024, compared with 81,900 in July 2023.
Universities UK reports that:
The results, from over 70 universities, reveal a significant decline in enrolments, especially of postgraduate taught students – which were reported to be down by more than 40% in January 2024 following the immigration rules changes.
International student fees are crucial for funding education for UK students as they amounted to £11.8 billion in 2022-23, an increase from about 5% in the mid-1990s to 23% of total income. Additionally, "loss-making" operations like research and home-student instruction are partially offset by these payments.
According to Universities Wales, a reduction in numbers of international students will have significant consequences for the higher education sector. In 2023, international fees in Welsh higher education amounted to 30% of all student income. Universities Wales says the impact of changes to the Graduate route will “be magnified in Wales, as international student growth in Wales has not matched that of the UK, and stagnated after the removal of the Post-Study Work visa in 2012 before increasing again more recently”.
They also argue that increasing the salary thresholds on the Skilled Worker Route will have a “disproportionate impact in Wales, where the average graduate starting salary is £25,000”.
The new regulations to prevent international students from switching to work visas before completing their studies could also result in a reduction of skilled workers in certain sectors, such as engineering, construction and manufacturing, which could potentially damage the Welsh economy. According to Universities UK, an additional 400,000 extra graduates will be needed in Wales by 2035 in order to respond to skills gaps and workforce challenges of the future.
There is also the money international students generate for the wider Welsh economy to consider. In 2019/20, this was estimated to be £661 million.
Reactions to the changes
Professor Iwan Davies, Chair of Global Wales, agrees and has emphasised that “by coming to Wales, international students play an invaluable role in diversifying and internationalising our campuses and communities at a time when retaining an international outlook is more important than ever.”
Jeremy Miles MS, the former Minister for Education and Welsh Language, made clear the importance of international students for the Welsh education system and said the Welsh Government is “committed to fully supporting our international students and their families when they choose to study and live in Wales”.
As Professor DylanJones-Evans from the University of South Wales warns, perhaps Welsh Universities should be cautious of an overreliance on the income of international students, with estimates that “as much as £20 million could have been spent on agents to secure overseas students”. There are also significant amounts spent on the self-funding international students, which is described as “clearly not sustainable”. The amount of support indicates that universities might be making less money from an international student compared with a typical domestic student when agencies' costs and scholarships are taken into account.
In June 2022 a House of Commons Committee expressed concerns that higher education providers in England faced financial risks if assumptions about future growth in international student numbers prove to be over-optimistic.
International students – what’s next?
The UK Government faces conflicting goals to reduce net migration and recognise the economic benefits of international students. Some organisations such as the Office for National Statistics call for international students to be removed from net migration figures. Indeed the previous UK Government found itself challenged with lowering net migration while achieving its 2030 goal of accepting 600,000 internationalstudents per annum.
The new UK Labour Government's changes to the immigration process announced in the King’s Speech suggests a comprehensive reassessment of the immigration system. Although there hasn’t been much discussion of student visas, in July the Secretary of State for Education, Bridgette Phillipson MP stressed that “international students are welcome in the UK”.
Proposed immigration reforms could shape the future for international students in the UK and the number of international students who choose to study at Welsh universities.
Our second article, to be published tomorrow, will look at the financial and social support international students receive while studying in Wales and explore concerns about how their needs are being met.
Article by Asmaa Alfar, Senedd Research, Welsh Parliament
Senedd Research acknowledges the parliamentary fellowship provided to Asmaa Alfar by WISERD which enabled this article to be completed.
