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Last updated on Monday 13 Mar 2023 at 3:01pm
New polling, commissioned from Public First by Universities UK, has revealed that the UK public doesn’t see reducing legal migration as a priority compared to other pressing issues, and are not in favour of cutting the number of international students.
When asked, the vast majority of respondents (64%) believed the UK should host the same or more international students and only 9% of overall respondents thought that students and researchers should discouraged from coming to the UK.
The public also strongly supported the contribution international students make to the UK. The majority (62%) recognised that international students gave more to the economy than they took out, and 43% thought that British diplomacy benefits from hosting international students who leave with positive impressions of the UK after studying here, with only 11% disagreeing.
Following speculation that the government may look to restrict the ability for international students, and their dependents, to come to the UK, the polling also found:
Contrary to reported potential changes to immigration policy, the public do not place legal migration as a high priority challenge for the government, and were far more concerned with issues such as the cost of living, NHS pressures and ambulance wait times.
This new polling confirms that public perceptions of immigration, and of international students in particular, are not what the government may believe.
“The public understands the enormous contribution that international students make to our economy, institutions and research outputs, as well as enormously benefiting the UK’s international reputation. Our international institutions are cherished by the public, and we would hope that government policy follows suit
Vivienne Stern MBE
Chief Executive of UUK
Our monthly updates are a great way for you to stay up to date with our work, events, and higher education news.