Trend Possibly Connected to UK Government’s Policies to Restrict Immigration

According to British organisation FindAUniversity, the number of prospective international students interested in pursuing their master’s degrees in the United Kingdom decreased from 51% to 30% between 2022 and 2023. The information has been released in an article recently published by The Pie News, which also highlights that competitor countries, such as the US, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands, have seen an uptick in interest. 

These trends may be connected to measures that are being implemented by the UK government, such as an increase in immigration fees and changes to the dependent visa policies, which are set to become more restrictive. Additionally, the Migration Advisory Committee will review the graduate visa, a two-year, unsponsored work permit for overseas graduates of British universities. 

Wittenborg president Peter Birdsall points out that after Brexit, the United Kingdom has been changing visa rules and trying to come to terms with immigration at all different levels. “Within this context, the government will go for the policies that are the simplest to implement. So, just like in the Netherlands, they will focus on the groups that do not cause too much controversy, and master’s students and their partners or family members are the easiest ones to target,” he says. 

In Birdsall’s view, this makes the possibility of studying in the country less interesting for students, given that their career opportunities will be significantly limited. “Master’s students usually tie their programmes to the opportunity to make a career as well. So, just going to another country to do a master’s is not an option if there's no possibility to get work at the same time. A lot of international master’s students give up other job opportunities in their home countries when they go abroad, which means they want to have real opportunities to progress.” 

The president of Wittenborg underlines that countries like the UK, the Netherlands, Germany and the United States compete for international talent, and the easiest way to attract it is by bringing people to pursue educational programmes. This way, students will be able to build on the skills and the knowledge they already have, which is very beneficial for the labour market.  

“Employers need these professionals and at the same time international graduates also need to have some sort of sense of security and well-being while they are going through this process. As long as the Netherlands can still offer opportunities for international students to come here and improve their skills and their knowledge, and at the same time make themselves available for companies that need that talent, then the country can profit from it.” 

He concludes by stressing that knee-jerk reactions by populist politicians can have a detrimental effect by throwing away a lot of the benefits associated with internationalisation. “It is important to keep in mind that the Netherlands is in a state of development when it comes to its political direction at the moment. Therefore, we are obviously doing everything we can to maintain the status quo and keep the country going in the right direction, while some forces are trying to move it the other way.”

WUP 15/1/2024

by Ulisses Sawczuk

©WUAS Press