Question on removing students from the net migration target from Afzal Kahn MP

Written question answered on Friday 19 January 2018  

Afzal Kahn MP (Labour), the Shadow Immigration Minister, asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the level of public support for removing students from the Government’s net migration target. Additionally, Mr Kahn asked whether her Department has undertaken a societal or cultural cost-benefit analysis on removing non-EU students from their Government’s net migration target.

Answered on 19 January 2018 by Caroline Nokes, Minister of State for Immigration: 

The Government welcomes the contribution that international students make to the UK economy. We recognise that international students enhance our educational institutions both financially and culturally; enrich the experience of domestic students; and become important ambassadors for the United Kingdom in later life. The Government has recently commissioned the Migration Advisory Committee to undertake a study into the costs and benefits of international students

There is no limit on the number of international students who can come to the UK and there are no plans to change this. So long as students are compliant with immigration rules they should make a very limited contribution to net migration numbers

The independent Office for National Statistics is responsible for the production of the net migration statistics. In line with the internationally agreed UN definition, these statistics define a migrant as someone changing their normal place of residence for more than a year. Students are therefore included in the same way as other migrants