How many international students will be coming to study in the UK in 2018? It’s a question that some homestay accommodation providers may be anxiously asking now that their young guests have vacated their hosted rooms to return home for the seasonal holiday. Students on 1-3 year courses will of course be back in January. But adding to the uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote in 2016, the last 12 months have seen continuing issues involving international student visa applications, tuition fees and post study work. So, who will be choosing to rent a room in a family home in the year ahead?
Perhaps more students from overseas than have been recently predicted! It does look like good news for some international students following a government announcement in late November of a change to the immigration rules, which will make it easier for overseas students and researchers to seek work in the UK. There are also plans to allow students to apply to switch to a Tier 2 “skilled worker” visa as soon as they complete their course rather than having to wait until their degree is awarded.
“There is no limit on the number who can come to study in the UK”
Prior to the EU referendum, the number of international applicants had actually risen by 2 per cent, and was expected to reach more than one in five by 2018, according to Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Despite of a reported fall in EU student numbers (but not from non-EU countries) following the Brexit vote, in May 2017 a UKCISA Briefing reported that the proportion of international students in UK higher education had in fact reached 1 in 5 (19 per cent) of all students.
More recently, UK Immigration Minister Brandon Lewis pointed to, “the number coming to study at our universities has increased by 24 per cent since 2010”, adding that “there is no limit on the number who can come to study in the UK.” It is also frequently flagged up that the UK remains the second most popular destination for international students in the world, after the USA, but ahead of Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
There’s no doubt that a key factor, which contributed to a dip in international student figures was the abolition of The Post-Study Work (PSW) scheme in 2012, which had previously allowed any Tier 4 student to stay on and work (in any capacity) for two years after their studies. It followed on from the 2009 introduction of a Tier 4 Points Based System for any college wishing to recruit non-EEA (European Economic Area) students, who would first be inspected and accredited, then approved by the Home Office. Maintenance funding levels and the cost of a visa extension were also increased.
No reason to doubt that international student numbers will continue to rise
Despite post Brexit-vote fear of falling student numbers – actually offset by the falling exchange rate value of the pound – the number of students coming to the UK from abroad to study remains resilient. There was a 2 per cent increase to 70,830 applications from non-EU countries in July 2017 and by November, a further 40,245 – up 5 per cent on 2016 – was accepted at a UK university or college, according to UCAS data.
Recent announcements over the completion of the Brexit transition period – which could be up to 1st January 2021 – could spell a much longer period of uncertainty for overseas students and homestay accommodation hosts. But in the meanwhile, there’s no reason to doubt that international student numbers will continue to rise.
The international hosting scheme and its thousands of dedicated room providers should look forward to continuing as one of the UK’s unofficial cultural ambassadors. In fact, in the post Brexit era, homestay accommodation will play an even more crucial role in the sharing economy by enabling young people from overseas to experience a fuller and richer education and travel experience by living with a host family in the UK.