International Students and Immigration: Tackling myths and misconceptions

Debates on the future of international students in the UK are becoming increasingly prominent and interwoven with discussions around immigration. This has especially been the case concerning the UK Government’s objective to reduce immigration numbers and become all the more noticeable since July 2023, when the UK Government gained Royal Assent for the Illegal Migration Act to be written into law.

In this thinkpiece, the Lifelong Education Institute explores the subject of international students and evaluates how current and new legislation is unfairly targeting them and in particular their families or dependants. It concludes with key reflections on how international students, and international academics, are far from being a problem. Instead, they are valuable economic and research contributors to British higher education institutions and society as a whole.