New data indicates that Britain does not have a chronic problem with foreign students abusing the immigration system by staying illegally in the country following the expiration of their UK visas. Previous government estimates showed huge discrepancies between the arrival and departure of foreign students entering the UK to study.
International students usually enter the UK on a Tier 4 student visa, while workers often opt for the Tier 2 visa, which allows skilled workers to work for a UK employer with a tier 2 sponsorship licence, and eventually gain legal permanent residence.
These discrepancies have often been attributed to students remaining in the UK unlawfully upon completion of their course. However, the first ever data based on proper exit checks – compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – suggests that this claim might not be true.
The new statistics come amid a Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) investigation – commissioned by Home Secretary, Amber Rudd – into the impact of international students on Britain's economy and society.
The MAC review will assess the effect that non-EU and EU students have on the UK labour market while present in the country. Historic data documenting international students – as with all previous net UK migration estimates – is based on the International Passenger Survey (IPS).
However, officials can now access 'exit check' data, which provides a more accurate overview of a person's movements rather than having to rely on what people leaving the UK tell IPS interviewers at ports and airport terminals about their intentions.
Data compiled as a result of exit checks indicates that the proportion of non-EU students who actually returned to the UK is significantly lower at approximately 6 percent. This suggests that long-term emigration has been underestimated.
Out of 181,024 expired student UK visas, 176,407 (97.4 percent) exited the UK in-time. Meanwhile, similar figures were recorded for non-EU nationals in the UK on Tier 2 visas (95.4 percent) and visitor visas (96.7 percent). Overall, 96.3 percent of UK visa holders departed the country prior to their entitlement to stay running out.
However, the ONS report did concede that the percentage unaccounted for could not be pinpointed exactly due to gaps in the data. 'Some may have left on time, others could have left late, while some might have overstayed,' the report said.
"The exit checks report shows that the measures the government has introduced to crack down on abuse of student routes are working and we now have high levels of compliance. At the same time we've maintained a highly competitive offer for those talented international students who want to learn at our top institutions, and the number of sponsored applications to study at our universities have continued to rise," the Home Office added.
The newly published data has prompted fresh calls for Theresa May to axe international students from her overall net migration target of 100,000.
According to the IPPR, given the irrefutable evidence of the exit checks data, the government should be urgently exploring ways to remove international students from the migration target altogether.
It's understood that the review into the impact of international students on the British economy and society will involve an in-depth analysis of tuition fees and the spending habits of foreign students across the national, regional and local economies.
Their impact on recruitment and how this affects the quality of education given to UK students will also come under scrutiny. The MAC's final report is due to be submitted in September 2018.
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