Why do people come to the UK? To study
Published 25 February 2021
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Data relate to the year ending December 2020 and all comparisons are with the year ending December 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 first 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. Commentary specifically addressing changes over the course of the pandemic is also provided at the end of section 1.
This section contains data on:
- Sponsored study visas
- Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) by education sector
- Short-term students
1. Immigration for study
In 2020, there were 232,192 Sponsored study visas granted (including dependants), an 18% decrease compared to 2019. Of the 232,192 sponsored visas granted, 188,149 (81%) were under Tier 4 rules and 44,043 (19%) were under the new Student and Child Student routes introduced on the 5th October 2020.
Chinese nationals were the most common nationality granted student visas in 2020, accounting for 35% of the total. However, the number of grants to Chinese nationals in 2020 was almost a third less than in 2019, falling 32% to 81,846. COVID-19 restrictions were implemented early in China, from January 2020, leading to a 44% fall in grants to study to Chinese nationals in 2020 Quarter 1 (January to March), a 100% fall in 2020 Quarter 2 (April to June), and a 43% fall in Quarter 3 (July to September) compared to the same periods in 2019. This downward trend dramatically reversed in Quarter 4 (October to December), with a large recovery in the number of sponsored study grants issued to Chinese students, (34,001 in Q4 2020, compared to 4,853 in Q4 2019).
Indian nationals saw a notable increase in the number of student visas granted in 2020, up 15,867 or 42% to 53,263 and continuing an increase seen since 2016. India was the nationality with the largest increase in sponsored visas and in 2020 accounted for 23% of all sponsored study visas, up from 13% a year earlier. While Sponsored study visas to Indian nationals decreased by 6,444 or 48% from April-August 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 due to COVID-19, the significant increase in later months of 2020 sustained a notable increase compared to 2019.
Nigerian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi Nationals also saw large increases in sponsored study visas. Nigerian sponsored study visas increased by 4,683 or 56% to 13,067. Pakistani sponsored study visas increased by 1,583 or 32% to 6,510. Bangladeshi sponsored study visas increased by 1,369 or 63% to 3,541.
Table 1: Top 51 nationalities granted Sponsored study visas, 2019 and 2020
| Nationality | 2019 | 2020 | Change | Percentage change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | 119,825 | 81,846 | -37,979 | -32% |
| India | 37,396 | 53,263 | +15,867 | +42% |
| Nigeria | 8,384 | 13,067 | +4,683 | +56% |
| Hong Kong | 9,178 | 8,594 | -584 | -6% |
| United States | 14,837 | 8,430 | -6,407 | -43% |
| Other nationalities2 | 95,101 | 66,992 | -28,110 | -30% |
| Total | 284,721 | 232,192 | -52,530 | -18% |
Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes – Vis_D02
Notes:
- Top 5 nationalities in the most recent year.
- ‘Other nationalities’ includes all nationalities that don’t feature in the top 5 in the latest year.
Those coming on sponsored study visas bring relatively few dependants, with 91% of the visas issued being to main applicants, compared with 67% for Work visas. In 2020, the top three nationalities accounted for more than two thirds (71%) of sponsored study dependants: India (41%), Nigeria (19%), and Saudi Arabia (11%).
In addition to those coming on sponsored visas, there were 21,502 Short-term student visas granted in 2020, 82% (98,187) lower than in 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 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 effects of COVID-19 on the UK immigration system (study)
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 Quarter 2 2020, with no applications or grants in April or May 2020.
In Quarter 4 2020, the number of Sponsored study visa applications was 145% higher than the same period in 2019, rising by 47,208 to a total of 79,689. At the same time, the number of sponsored study visas granted increased by 203%, rising by 56,091 to a total of 83,724. However, year-on-year comparisons for individual months and quarters may be misleading due to the pandemic causing the usual seasonal pattern for studies to be disrupted.
The number of grants began to recover in Quarter 3 2020, with July at 90% lower, August 58% lower, and September 21% higher than the same months in 2019. This recovery continued into Quarter 4, with every month in this period having more grants than in 2019. October had the largest increase, with the number of grants being 420% or 31,274 higher than in 2019, reaching a total of 38,722 grants.
The largest monthly difference in Sponsored study grants coincides with the new Student routes introduced on the 5th of October 2020.
Figure 1: Number of Tier 4 (Sponsored study) visas granted, by month, January to December 2019 and 2020
Source: Entry clearance visa applications and outcomes – Vis_D02 and underlying data
1.2 Sponsored study visa applications
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.
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 2019 to 2020 academic year, reported a 5% increase in all first-year student enrolments in 2019/20, compared to the previous year. The rise was driven by a 23% increase in the number of new non-EU students, while EU and UK-domiciled student enrolments were roughly stable (EU down 2%; UK up 1%).
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 Student (Sponsored study).
This visa has replaced the Tier 4 (General) Student visa as of 5th October 2020. It provides a route for students over the age of 16 to study with an approved education provider in the UK.
2.2 Child Student (Sponsored study)
This visa has replaced the Tier 4 (General) Student visa as of 5th October 2020. It provides a route for students been the ages of 4 and 17 years old to study at an approved independent school in the UK.
2.3 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.
2.4 Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)
Due to changes to the casework system in October 2019, for Quarter 4 2019 and the Quarters 1-3 2020 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. The issue was resolved in August 2020 and we hope to be able to provide quarterly data from Quarter 1 2021.
To apply for a Student visa or for an extension of stay as a student (sponsored), 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.
2.5 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).
2.6 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:
- Sponsorship summary tables
- Detailed sponsorship datasets
- Entry clearance visas summary tables
- Detailed Entry clearance visas datasets
- Admissions summary tables
- Extensions tables
- Detailed extensions datasets
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