Fall in the number foreign students will come at a significant economic cost

New statistics, released today by the Office for National Statistics, show that net migration (the difference between immigration and emigration) to the UK has fallen to 183,000, from 242,000 the previous year.

Reacting to the new figures, Sarah Mulley, Associate Director at IPPR, said:

"This fall in net migration has been driven by a significant fall in the number of foreign students coming to the UK. Steps to reduce abuse of the student visa system are welcome, but if the Government's net migration target is to be met, they also need there to be a dramatic fall in the numbers of genuine foreign students. This will come at a significant economic cost. The irony is that the impacts on net migration will only be short-lived because most students stay only for a short time. Reduced immigration today means reduced emigration in a year or two's time, which could see net migration rise again."

Today's stats show that in the year to September 2012, there were 210,921 visas issued for the purpose of study (excluding student visitors), a fall of 26 per cent compared with the previous 12 months.

Notes to Editors:

Today's ONS figures are at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/mro/news-release/net-migration-falls-significantly/news-release--net-migration-falls-significantly.html

IPPR's latest report on student visas is available at: http://www.ippr.org/publication/55/8997/international-students-and-net-migration-in-the-uk

Contacts

Richard Darlington, 07525 481 602, r.darlington@ippr.org

Tim Finch, 07595 920899, t.finch@ippr.org