Foreign Students To Be Barred From The UK

Foreign students who wish to study in the UK may be turned away unless they are accepted at a “top university” according to a report by The Times.

According to the Office for National Statistics on Thursday, net migration continued to add to the population in the YE June 2022, with an estimated 504,000 more people arriving long-term to the UK. In a bid to reduce flows to the UK, Rishi Sunak is considering curbs on foreign students taking “low quality” degrees and bringing dependents to the UK.  What constitutes as a “low quality degree” has not yet been defined by the officials.  According to the report, there will also be restrictions on how many family members the students are able to bring into the country with them. The rules will also only apply to foreign students who aren’t already living in the UK.

However, this plan has received backlash as “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.” said Prof Brian Bell on BBC Radio 4’s program.

Sunak’s official spokesperson said he was “fully committed” to bringing overall immigration levels down and blamed “unprecedented and unique circumstances” for the record high. When asked about concerns regarding the potential damage to universities, the official said: “Of course we support our universities – they’re some of the very best in the world – and of course we will always act in the best interest of the UK.”