A crackdown on international students in Britain could harm struggling cities where universities are key to the local economy, the Centre for Cities thinktank has warned. The Home Office is contacting tens of thousands of overseas students, telling them they will be removed if they overstay their visas without legal grounds to remain.
The thinktank said the impact would be felt more heavily in cities such as Leicester, Plymouth, Hull and Stoke-on-Trent, where universities play an outsized role in supporting jobs, economic activity and exports compared to more prosperous university towns like Oxford and Cambridge. Higher education is among the top 10 export sectors in most cities with universities, and in some places it leads global activity, including Exeter, Dundee, Leicester and Nottingham.
Universities have become increasingly reliant on overseas students, with their contribution rising from about 5% of income in 1995 to about a quarter today. However, this revenue is at risk due to restrictions on dependents, a proposed limit on the graduate visa, and a potential levy on international student fees. Several institutions are in deficit, and Dundee University has received up to £40m in emergency support from the Scottish government.
Andrew Carter, chief executive of Centre for Cities, said: 'Many UK universities are under financial strain, raising questions about their future. Any changes to higher education policy will not be felt evenly across the country. National reforms that weaken the sector risk cutting across the government's ambitions for delivering growth everywhere.'
A government spokesperson responded: 'This report rightly highlights the value of our world class universities to their communities and the wider British economy. We are exploring the introduction of a levy on the money which universities make from international students, which would see the funds reinvested into our higher education and skills system to unlock opportunity and drive growth.'
