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Why do people come to the UK? To study

Published 29 February 2024

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-december-2023/why-do-people-come-to-the-uk-to-study

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Data relates to 2023 and all comparisons are with 2022 (unless indicated otherwise). All data includes dependants, unless indicated otherwise.

Between 2011 and 2016 sponsored study visa grants to main applicants were relatively stable at around 200,000 per year (figure 1). The number increased following the EU referendum in 2016, reaching 268,674 in 2019. Following a fall in numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of visas issued subsequently increased sharply, reaching a peak of 498,626 in the year ending June 2023. Numbers have stabilised in the latest year. The most recent increase was in part due to immigration levels increasing as COVID-19 related restrictions were eased, and followed the UK’s departure from the EU which ended free movement for many EEA nationals (excluding those with status on the EU Settlement Scheme) - EEA nationals have since accounted for around 5% of sponsored study visas to main applicants. For further discussion of the recent increases in visas see ‘Recent changes to visa numbers in Home Office data’.

In order to be granted a sponsored study visa, a main applicant must get a ‘Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies’ (CAS) from their educational provider as evidence of an unconditional offer to study a course with a licensed student sponsor. Around 9 in 10 sponsored study applications are for the Higher Education Sector (such as universities), which has accounted for most of the growth in students in recent years.

The MAC’s annual report discussed the growth of international students in more detail, and there is evidence to suggest that the increasing international student population in the UK are studying at a postgraduate level, accounting for 74% of international students in 2022 to 2023.

In 2023, there were 457,673 sponsored study visas granted to main applicants, 5% fewer than in 2022 but 70% higher than 2019.

Figure 1: Sponsored study visas granted by applicant type, 2010 to 2023

Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes – Vis_D02

Figure 1 shows the sharp increases in both the number of main applicant and dependant visas granted, following the COVID-19 pandemic and UK’s departure from the EU. Despite the number of dependants growing at a faster rate in recent years, in 2023 there were 3 dependant visas issued per 10 main applicants.

There were 143,595 visas issued to student dependants in 2023, +7% compared to the year earlier but almost 9 times higher than 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and UK leaving the EU.

Following a recent policy change, for courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, only research-based postgraduate students are now allowed to bring dependants (partners and children) to the UK.

The majority of the increase in main applicants between 2019 and 2023 were from Indian (+85,849) and Nigerian (+35,366) nationals. These same nationalities together accounted for 65% of all sponsored study visas issued to dependants in 2023 (compared with 29% in 2019).

Figure 2: Sponsored study visas granted to the top 5 nationalities (main applicants) between 2018 and 2023

Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes – Vis_D02

Figure 2 shows there were 120,110 sponsored study visa grants to main applicants that are Indian nationals in 2023 (26% of the total) – this was 14% fewer than 2022. Chinese nationals are the second most common nationality granted student visas, accounting for 24% of the total. These 2 nationalities together account for around a half of the foreign students who come to study in the UK.

2. Extensions of study

The Graduate route allows students who have successfully completed a bachelor’s degree, postgraduate degree or other eligible course to stay in the UK for a period after their studies to work or look for work. Statistics on extensions granted on the Graduate route are included in ‘Why do people come to the UK? To work’.

Analysis from the Migrant journey: 2022 report shows that most foreign students do not remain in the UK indefinitely. Around 4 in 5 of those arriving on study routes had expired leave 5 years later. Since 2007, fewer than 10% of people who came to study in the UK had indefinite leave to remain 10 years later (compared to over 20% who came for work and over 80% for family reasons). The recent introduction of the Graduate route and other factors may change the proportion of students who stay on in the UK, which will be monitored in due course through the annual migrant journey reports.

In 2023, grants of extensions into Sponsored study routes for main applicants decreased by 15% to 41,359 compared with 2022, (48,857).

Of the 49,523 total extensions granted in 2023, 84% (41,359) were to main applicants, and 16% (8,164) were to dependants. Certificates of Acceptance for Study (CAS) used for sponsored study extensions shows that 93% of main applicants were for higher education (university) institutions. Chinese nationals accounted for 29% (14,560) and Indian nationals 16% (7,743) of extensions for study.

Analysis linking the current category of leave to the previous category of leave shows that 80% of study extensions granted to main apps and dependants in 2023 held a study visa before their current study extension.

3. About these statistics

The statistics in this section provide an indication of the number of people who have an intention to enter the UK for study reasons.

Before 2021, due to freedom of movement for European Union (EU) nationals, the vast majority of UK immigration control statistics related to non-European Economic Area (EEA) nationals. From 2021, unless otherwise stated, the statistics in this release relate to both EEA and non-EEA nationals.

Entry clearance visas allow an individual to enter and stay in the UK within the period for which the visa is valid. Data in this section refers to the number of Entry clearance visas granted for study reasons within the period. If an individual was granted a visa more than once in a given period, this has been counted as multiple grants in the statistics.

Year-on-year comparisons of the number of decisions can be affected by quarterly fluctuations in the data. These fluctuations can be examined in the quarterly data in the published tables. Year ending comparisons will also include impacts resulting from the travel restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

3.1 Short-term study

The current Short-term study visa (previously described as ‘Student visitor’) is for English language courses lasting longer than 6 months and up to 11 months. Individuals with this visa cannot extend their stay. People coming to the UK for short-term courses (lasting up to 6 months) can apply for a Standard Visitor visa. This is due to many student visitor admissions being from nationalities that are not required to obtain a visa if they wish to come to the UK as a short-term student for 6 months or less (such as US nationals).

Short-term travel to the UK was severely reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and since the end of 2020 there have been far fewer short-term study visas as a result of the changes to the Standard Visitor visa. People arriving on this route are not allowed to bring family members (‘dependants’). There were 4,236 short-term study visas granted in 2023 compared to 4,987 in the preceding year. Further information on the number of visitor visas granted can be found in the ‘How many people come to the UK each year (including visitors)’ topic.

3.2 Extension of temporary stay in the UK

Extensions of temporary stay in the UK relate to individuals inside the UK extending or changing the status of their right to stay in the UK. An individual is required to apply for an extension or change in status before their existing permission to enter or stay in the UK expires.

The statistics in this section show the number of grants and refusals on applications for extension of temporary stay in the UK. One individual may have made multiple applications for an extension, so may account for multiple decisions. Data in this section includes dependants and takes account of the outcomes of reconsiderations and appeals. The statistics do not show the number of people applying to extend their temporary stay in the UK, nor do they show how long an individual stayed in the UK following their extension.

Data on the previous category of leave links current and previous leave types, within and across caseworking systems, with a match rate of 99.7 to 99.9%. Of the successfully matched cases, 8% of previous case types were unknown. Figures and percentages are rounded to reflect this uncertainty.

Further information on the statistics in this section can be found in the extension section of the user guide.

3.3 Other sources

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish long-term international migration estimates. These are statistics under development that estimate the number of people immigrating to and emigrating from the UK for 12 months or more.

In January 2023, HESA published its latest ‘Higher Education Student Statistics UK’ for the academic year 2021 to 2022. HESA publishes data on new entrants to UK higher education providers for both EEA and non-EEA nationals.

In December 2023, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) published their fourth annual report. This report includes analysis of how the immigration system is being used within and across the nations of the UK.

4. Data tables

Data on student immigration can be found in the following tables:

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