Rishi Sunak plans restrictions on foreign students to control migration: Report

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is considering curbs on foreign students taking “low quality” degrees and bringing dependents, in his bid to bring down the rising net migration in the United Kingdom, according to a report by the BBC. But they declined to define a “low quality” degree.

But a government migration adviser warned that this would bankrupt many universities.

Sunak’s spokesman said the idea was being looked at after official figures showed net migration to the UK had climbed to a record half a million.

Restricting admissions

The Times has reported that plans to bring down numbers could include restricting admissions to top universities as well as restricting visas for students’ dependants.

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Home Secretary Suella Braverman has previously complained about foreign students “bringing in family members who can piggyback onto their student visa” and “propping up, frankly, substandard courses in inadequate institutions”.

The UK government’s concerns on rising migration have been set off by the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures this week that showed a huge jump in the number of migrants. Net migration (difference between people moving into UK and those leaving UK) to the UK rose from 173,000 in 2021, to 504,000 this year — an increase of 331,000.

International students, especially Indians who took over the Chinese for the first time to make up the majority of student visas, were a big contributor to this spike.

Sunak’s official spokesman insisted the PM supported Britain’s universities which were “some of the very best in the world”. But he was also “fully committed” to bringing overall immigration levels down, blaming “unprecedented and unique circumstances” for the record high.

Pro-immigration voices

But the move is likely to run into resistance.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last week insisted immigration was required to boost growth, adding that there had to be “a long-term plan if we’re going to bring down migration in a way that doesn’t harm the economy”, BBC report added.

Chair of the government’s Migration Advisory Committee, Professor Brian Bell, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that this could “send many universities over the edge,” particularly in poorer regions.

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He said: “Most universities for most courses lose money on teaching British students and offset that loss by charging more for international students. If you close down the international route I’m not sure how the university continues to survive,” he said.