UK Slams Door on Foreign Students, Targets £40bn Education Windfall

The UK government is implementing a new strategy to enhance the country’s educational reach on a global scale, setting an ambitious target of increasing education exports to £40 billion annually by 2030.

This initiative marks a shift from the previous goal established in 2019, which focused on attracting 600,000 international students to study at UK institutions each year.

This updated approach reflects a strategic adjustment in the UK’s international education policies, as government officials seek to balance the need for migration control with the economic benefits derived from the education sector.

Under this revised strategy, universities and educational institutions will be encouraged to establish overseas campuses and foster international partnerships. This will enable students to access British education more conveniently, bringing UK learning opportunities closer to their home countries.

The Department for Education said the revised plan removes numerical targets for international students studying in the UK and instead supports providers to expand into new global markets.

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson said expanding British education overseas would help institutions diversify revenue, strengthen international partnerships, and widen access to UK-quality education while still supporting domestic economic growth.

Alongside the policy shift, the government plans to introduce tougher compliance standards to ensure that international students coming to the UK are genuine.

According to the report, universities that fail to meet the new standards could face recruitment caps or lose their licence to admit overseas students.

Ministers, however, stressed that the UK remains open to international students. The government confirmed in December that the UK will rejoin the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme in 2027, reopening access to student exchange opportunities across Europe.

The move comes as the number of study visas declines. In the year ending June 2025, the UK granted 431,725 sponsored study visas, representing an 18 per cent drop from the previous year and a 34 per cent fall from the peak recorded in 2023.

The government also announced a new levy of £925 per international student for each year of study in the 2024 autumn budget from August 2028.

Despite the visa decline, UCAS data showed that international undergraduate applications increased by 2.2 per cent in 2025 to 138,460, with applicants from China rising by a record 10%.

Student leaders have raised concerns about the potential impact of the strategy on campus diversity and student experience. Amira Campbell, president of NUS UK, said students want to learn alongside peers on campus rather than across different continents, noting that international students are central to the global reputation of UK universities.

She added that as institutions expand overseas, the government must ensure that teaching quality and student experience at international campuses match standards in the UK.