National statistics

Why do people come to the UK? To study

Updated 24 September 2020

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Data relate to the year ending June 2020 and all comparisons are with the year ending June 2019, unless indicated otherwise.

Some data relate to the second quarter of 2020 – 01 April to 30 June 2020. All comparisons are with the same period in 2019, unless indicated otherwise.

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak as a global pandemic. A range of restrictions relating to the outbreak began on 12 March 2020, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advised against all non-essential overseas travel on 17 March 2020, and advised all British travellers to return to the UK on 23 March 2020, the same day as the UK lockdown measures were announced.

Restrictions were put in place across Europe and other parts of the world in the run up to the UK outbreak, which will also have impacted travel to the UK prior to these dates. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the UK immigration system, both in terms of restricting migrant movements to and from the UK and the impact on operational capacity.

Year ending comparisons that follow will reflect the restrictions in place during this period of the pandemic. This section contains data on:

  • Sponsored study (Tier 4) visas
  • Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) by education sector
  • Short-term students

1. Immigration for study

In the year ending June 2020, there were 255,776 Sponsored study (Tier 4) visas granted (including dependants), a 1% increase on the year ending June 2019. Grants of Tier 4 visas had previously been at the highest level since 2011, however, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that this was no longer the case in the year ending June 2020. Previous increases were counteracted by a 99% fall in Tier 4 grants in the second quarter of 2020 (April to June), leading to an overall stable number for the year as a whole.

Chinese nationals were the most common nationality granted Tier 4 visas in the year ending June 2020, accounting for a third (34%) of the total. However, grants to Chinese nationals were down 19% compared with the year ending June 2019, to 86,651. COVID-19 restrictions were implemented early in China, from January 2020, leading to a 44% fall in Tier 4 grants to Chinese nationals in the first quarter of 2020 (January to March) and a 100% fall in the second quarter (April to June), compared to the same periods in 2019.

Indian nationals saw a notable increase in the number of Tier 4 visas granted, more than doubling (up 121% to 48,297) compared with the year ending June 2019, and continuing an increase seen since 2016. Although very few Tier 4 visas were granted to Indian nationals in the latest quarter (down 100% compared to the same quarter in 2019), there was a 136% increase in grants in the first three quarters of the period (July 2019 to March 2020), leading to an overall increase for the year ending June 2020.

The majority of study visas are granted in the third quarter of the year (July to September) and as such, the full effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will not yet be fully apparent.

Those coming on Tier 4 visas bring relatively few dependants, with 94% of the visas issued being to main applicants, compared with 71% for Work visas.

Table 1: Top 51 nationalities granted Sponsored study (Tier 4) visas, year ending June 2019 and year ending June 2020

Nationality YE June 2019 YE June 2020 Change Percentage change
China 107,555 86,651 -20,904 -19%
India 21,868 48,297 26,429 121%
United States 15,334 13,369 -1,965 -13%
Nigeria 7,132 9,066 1,934 27%
Hong Kong 9,106 9,021 -85 -1%
Other nationalities2 91,940 89,372 -2,568 -3%
Total 252,935 255,776 2,841 1%

Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes – Vis_D02

Notes:

  1. Top 5 nationalities in the most recent year.
  2. ‘Other nationalities’ includes all nationalities that don’t feature in the top 5 in the latest year.

In addition to those coming on Tier 4 visas, there were 60,285 Short-term student visas granted in the year ending June 2020, 48% (55,931) lower than in the year ending June 2019. There are also large numbers of people who do not require a visa for short-term study in the UK, for example, the large numbers of US nationals coming for shorter periods of study who will not be included in this figure.

In August 2020, the Home Office published its ‘Fifth report on statistics relating to exit checks’, which showed that the vast majority (97%) of those with Tier 4 visas expiring in the year ending March 2020, were known to have departed from the UK before their visa had expired.

In 2019, 51,404 former Tier 4 visa holders extended their leave in the UK, either for further study or to remain in the UK for other reasons, such as for marriage or work.

1.1 The impact of COVID-19

The Home Office published a separate report on 28 May 2020, which provided a statistical overview of COVID-19 impacts on the immigration system through to the end of April 2020. However, there are further changes visible in the period to the end of June 2020.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all visa application centres were closed by 31 March 2020. They began gradually reopening from June 2020. As a result, visa application and grant numbers were much lower than usual in the second quarter of 2020 (April to June).

In the second quarter of 2020, the number of Tier 4 (Sponsored study) visa applications was 97% lower than the same period in 2019.

At the same time, the number of Tier 4 visas granted fell by 99%. There were no Tier 4 visa applications or grants in April or May 2020. This began to recover in June, with 1,216 Tier 4 visa applications and 581 grants.

However, the majority of study visas are granted in the third quarter of the year (July to September) and as such the full effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will not yet be fully apparent.

Figure 1: Number of Tier 4 (Sponsored study) visas granted, by month, January to June, 2019 and 2020

Grants of Study visas, comparing the first six months in 2020 with the same months in 2019. In January and February 2020, grants were higher. In March 2020, grants were 16% lower. In April/May 2020, grants were down 100%. In June, grants were down 95%.

Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes – Vis_D02 and underlying data

In the year ending September 2019 (the latest available data – see ‘About these statistics’ for details), Sponsored study visa applications stood at 258,787. The majority (86%) of these were for study at higher education (university) institutions, whose number increased by 14% to 222,047, which was the highest level on record.

Sponsored study visa applications were made for the following sectors:

  • Higher Education (86%)
  • Independent schools (5%)
  • Further education (5%)
  • English language schools (3%)
  • Other (1%)

The most recent Higher Education Statistics Authority’s (HESA) student statistics report, for the 2018 to 2019 academic year, reported a 10% increase in new non-EU entrants (those entering the first year of their course), which is mirrored by a 14% increase in Sponsored student visa applications for the higher education sector in the closest corresponding period (year ending September 2019).

2. About these statistics

The statistics in this section provide an indication of the number of people who have an intention to enter the UK for study reasons.

Entry clearance visas allow an individual to enter and stay in the UK within the period for which the visa is valid. EEA nationals do not require a visa to enter the UK.

Data in this section refer to the number of Entry clearance visas granted for study reasons within the period. If an individual was granted a visa more than once in a given period, this has been counted as multiple grants in the statistics. If an individual entered the UK multiple times within the period for which a visa was valid, this has been counted as one grant in the visa statistics.

The data do not show whether, or when, an individual arrived in the UK, what they did on arrival or how long they stayed in the UK.

Year-on-year comparisons of the number of decisions can be affected by quarterly fluctuations in the data. These fluctuations can be examined in the quarterly data in the published tables.

2.1 Tier 4 (Sponsored study)

Tier 4 (Sponsored study) provides a route for students to study with an approved education provider. It was implemented from 31 March 2009, replacing previous entry routes for study.

2.2 Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)

Due to changes to the casework system in October 2019, for 2019 quarter 4 and 2020 quarters 1 and 2 it has not been possible to break down the number of Certificates of Acceptance for Study (CAS) used in ‘out of country’ (visa) applications or ‘in-country’ (extension) applications. As a result, the latest available data relate to the year ending September 2019. The issue will affect the data provided in tables CAS_D01 and CAS_D02. These statistics will be updated in due course.

To apply for a Student visa or for an extension of stay as a student (Tier 4), individuals must use a CAS from a sponsoring educational institution. Study visas applied for with a CAS are also referred to as ‘Sponsored visa applications’. Statistics relating to sponsored acceptances for study measure the number of successful sponsorship applications in the four main educational sectors: universities (higher education), further education, independent schools and English language schools.

2.3 Short-term study

The Short-term study visa (previously described as ‘Student visitor’) allows individuals to come to the UK for 6 months (or 11 months if they will be studying an English language course). Individuals with this visa cannot extend their stay. Admissions data shows considerably more Short-term student admissions from non-EEA nationals than Short-term student visas granted. This is due to many student visitor admissions being from nationalities that are not required to obtain a visa if they wish to come to the UK as a Short-term student for 6 months or less (such as US nationals).

2.4 Other sources

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes LTIM estimates in its ‘Migration Statistics Quarterly Report’. These data provide estimates from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) of the number of people coming to the UK with the intention of staying for 12 months or more for work, study, family and other reasons. Estimates are available for EU, non-EU and British nationals. IPS data are not directly comparable with Home Office visa data for several reasons. See the ONS article ‘Comparing sources of international migration statistics’ for details.

In January 2020, HESA published its latest ‘Higher Education Student Statistics UK’ for the academic year 2018 to 2019. HESA publishes data on new entrants to UK higher education providers for both EEA and non-EEA nationals.

3. Data tables

Data on student immigration can be found in the following tables:

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