Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the news stories entitled Changes to student visa route will reduce net migration, published on 23 May 2023, and Home Secretary unveils plan to cut net migration, published on 4 December 2023, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to international student visas on the (a) number and (b) experience of people from developing countries coming to the UK to study.

The government believes in a fair and robust migration policy, while maintaining the UK’s place as a top destination for the best and brightest students from around the world. The department remains committed to the ambitions set out in the government’s International Education Strategy to host 600,000 international students per year and to increase the value of our education exports to £35 billion per year, both by 2030.

The changes announced on 4 December 2023 strike the right balance between acting decisively on migration while protecting the UK’s position as a world-leader in higher education (HE).

The department expects the UK to remain a highly attractive study destination. The UK has four universities in the top ten, and 17 in the top 100. The UK has a highly sought after HE experience, which is respected by students across the globe. The department is hugely proud to have met its international student recruitment ambition two years running.

The department continues to work closely with the Home Office, Department for Business and Trade, and other government departments to assess the impact of these changes on HE providers.