International students are a boon not a burden to UK economy, says CBI Yorkshire boss Beckie Hart

Attracting international students to study in the UK has quietly become one of our most compelling export stories.

It’s a brilliant example of government policy delivering on its own objectives.

With other countries offering student incentives, then Prime Minister Boris Johnson responded with our own offer in 2021 – via the graduate visa – allowing international students to remain in the UK for two years following graduation.

The strategy proved to be a roaring success and research shows the additional economic impact from increased international student numbers since 2019 sits at £60 billion – a not insignificant sum for a country clawing its way back from an economic downturn.

What makes this success so striking is that it has been achieved in such a highly competitive field.

A UK degree is highly sought after, with the UK second only to the US in attracting international students to come and study.

We know overseas students subsidise the teaching of domestic students. So fewer international students would ultimately mean fewer places for UK students too.

They also subsidise the research and innovation needed for economic growth across the country.

Research commissioned by Universities UK shows one intake of international students in 2021/22 made a net positive contribution of over £37bn to the UK economy over the duration of their studies.

In many ways, international students are a ‘silent engine’ of levelling up. Every pound they spend to live and study here goes back into our economy, driving growth at local, regional and national level.

That supports local employment at universities and drives significant investment in parts of the country often overlooked by Westminster - from major construction projects to expand university campuses to demand for retail and hospitality.

Uniquely, because of the spread of our universities, this financial boost is distributed right across the UK from Paisley to Penzance – not contained to London and the south-east or a golden triangle.

That’s why it’s so perplexing that the Government was considering turning off the tap on this vital income stream for our universities and the communities they support.

The uncertainty caused by the Government’s wavering commitment to graduate visas had already hit the number of overseas students coming to the UK, with impacted universities even going so far as cancelling planned investments.

With the MAC now having had its say, businesses and higher education institutions will be hoping that the future of the graduate visa is put beyond doubt and that a period of damaging speculation has come to an end.

That’s not just in the interests of students and universities, it’s vital to our ambitions for global competitiveness and both regional and national growth.

Beckie Hart is the CBI’s regional director for Yorkshire and Humber