One of the defining features of Manchester as a city its massive student population. The city is home to one of the highest student populations per capita in the UK, which also encompasses a large number of international students. As a crucial part of the functioning of our modern UK university system, international students not only bring inflated tuition fees but a breadth of cultures and experiences to Manchester. So why do the government appear to be discouraging them?
After a peak in international student numbers in 2023, there appears to have been a significant dip in numbers due to policies enacted under the Conservative Sunak government which remain in place under the new Labour government, led by Keir Starmer. Former Home Secretary James Cleverly claimed that international students exploit the visa system to gain access to the UK, therefore “undermining the integrity and quality of the UK higher education system”.
I spoke to second-year English Literature and Italian bachelor’s student, Tommy Veritas, who is an international student from China. I asked him about why he chose to study at the University of Manchester, and whether he feels this attitude is reflected in the city.
“I think even compared to other places in the UK, especially down south, Manchester’s, like, very welcoming. It feels like everyone’s just really nice. Maybe it’s a northerner thing?” Tommy muses when I ask him whether he has felt at home in the city. I chuckle, but his take on Manchester does seem to be reflected in the amount of international students in the city.
The British Council estimates that there are 41,000 international students around the Greater Manchester area, making up over 10% of the student population. Of the 10 people in my first-year flat, we had students from Australia, Canada, Italy, Mexico, Greece and Costa Rica. Anyone who spends time in Manchester knows that there are significant amounts of foreign students studying here, and while this can be attributed to the large student population generally, it seems to me that there is something in the character of the city itself which draws people in.
I asked Tommy what exactly drew him to the UK in the first place. His journey home can take him 17 hours, which somewhat eclipses my complaints about my 5-hour trek home. So why come here, instead of somewhere a bit closer?
“From what I’ve heard and known, Europe is not the best at accepting different kinds of people living together”, he tells me. Because of this, he felt he had to choose between the UK and the US. US universities require students to pay even more than UK international fees and ask students to study a far broader range of subjects, leaving the UK as his best option.
“The education system in China, I don’t think it’s as good as the UK […], especially for art subjects”, he claims. “We know that it’s a stereotype that in Asia, unis are generally better at technology and stuff. But it’s true”.
It does appear, then, that the UK remains an attractive place for international students to come to study. However, recent changes to the law and attitudes in government do leave me wondering whether the decrease in international students in 2024 will become a regular occurrence.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has reported that annual migration into the United Kingdom for 2024 was estimated to be 728,000, which is significantly lower than the previous year. This dip in numbers was greatly celebrated when it was announced in November 2024, but when we break these figures down there is more to the situation than meets the eye. The ONS reveals that 13% fewer student visas were issued in 2024 compared to 2023. Therefore, rather than fewer ‘small boats’, this figure appears to be courtesy of the government discouraging international students from coming to the UK.
This is perhaps a result of new regulations making it almost impossible for students to obtain dependant visas when coming to the UK, meaning that students who may be coming here for Masters or PhD qualifications could not bring any children or other dependents into the country.
Coventry University Vice Chancellor John Latham came out in 2024 to warn of the potential dangers these new government policies could pose. He references a 40% yearly drop in international students coming to Coventry University and these ONS figures show how this is reflected all across the country.
Vice Chancellor Latham cites the economic impact which this has on the University as the primary issue, and with the rise in tuition fees in the Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ latest budget, perhaps we can see the effect that this is already having on both our universities and home students. International students can now pay as much as £32,081 per year in tuition fees and so with universities claiming they are drastically underfunded, international students seem to be a lifeline.
“In my opinion, reducing legal immigration would be a pretty bad idea. In terms of students, it’s interesting because, especially in Manchester, there’s a lot of international students – especially from China. You kind of understand that international students pay almost double the amount of home students. A lot of this keeps the universities running”. Tommy tells me when I put this to him, and it’s hard not to agree.
A student myself, I balked at the £250 increase in university tuition fees. So, the suggestion that the inflated international student fees keep this from rising further makes me question: why is this dip in immigration being lauded as a win?
It is not only money which international students bring to a university; they also bring to the UK a greater cultural diversity and a wider range of life experiences. I remember being taught how to make risotto ‘properly’ by an Italian flatmate last year and discovering the joys of genuine Mexican tequila (which I can confirm is far superior to whatever you get at the corner shop).
However, we also had conversations about Giorgia Meloni’s increasingly far-right government in Italy, what the theatre of Epidavros in Greece is like in person and the Canadian perspective on the political changes we have seen in America in recent years. This exposure to other cultures is increasingly valuable in our growing global society, and it is difficult to see why discouraging this could be seen as anything other than an extension of the isolationist policy which the UK appears to be adopting towards migration.
We are all familiar with the rhetoric of Suella Braverman and Nigel Farage, to name a few, in the so-called ‘migration debate’ in the UK – and these policies seem to me like a simple extension of this perspective. Whilst these policies were enacted under a Conservative government, it appears that the decrease in international students is an ongoing issue and one that we may have hoped this new Labour government would take more seriously.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has sounded like a broken record when it comes to “going for growth” in the past few months. I can only think that we need the most skilled people in the country to facilitate this, international or otherwise.
