Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likely impact on (1) the UK economy, and (2) the financial viability of Britain’s higher education sector, of overseas students being deterred from coming to the UK for their (a) graduate, and (b) post-graduate, studies.

International students make an estimated contribution to the UK economy of at least £25.9 billion per year, with every part of the UK being financially better off because of international students. International students also make a significant economic and cultural contribution to the UK’s higher education (HE) sector, which is important for our universities and delivers growth at home.

The department continues to work to ensure that the UK remains an attractive destination to international students. The government looks forward to continuing to welcome international students to our world class HE institutions. We remain committed to the targets set out in the International Education Strategy to continue to host at least 600,000 international students in the UK per year, by 2030. With 605,130 international students in the UK hosted in the 2020/21 academic year, the government has met its International Students ambition for the first time, nearly ten years early.