In January of this year, Imperial College Union successfully lobbied for an inquiry in the House of Lords. The ‘International STEM students’ inquiry was conducted by the Science and Technology Select Committee and investigated the impact of existing and proposed legislation on International Students.

 The inquiry received evidence from over fifty different sources over the last two months, including Imperial College Union’s own submission. The report from the inquiry has now been published and can be viewed in full here.

The main recommendations of the report are:

• The government should treat student numbers separately for immigration policy making purposes. This is a recommendation in ICU’s own submission and relates to a pledge the government made to reduce net migration by 15-20% in the next five years. As we should be encouraging International Students to apply to the UK to study given the benefits they bring to our country and universities, it doesn’t make sense to include them in these targets.
• The government should review their package for international students every two years to ensure it is globally competitive. One of the main points from our submission is that higher education is fast becoming a global market and if we fail to make International Students a competitive offer, the UK’s reputation will only hold out for so long before students simply go elsewhere.
• The government should reinstate the previous post-study work route. The last reform to immigration legislation occurred in 2012 and reduced the length of time an International Student could work in the UK after finishing their degree from two years to just four months. This is considered an important way for graduates to gain work experience before returning to their home countries. Since the implementation of restrictions to post-study work, the UK has seen its first decline in International Student numbers.
• The government should establish a working group to determine the impact of decreasing international taught Masters students on the sustainability of courses. This was another major point in the Union’s submission of evidence, which showed that many Masters courses are financially dependent on International Student numbers.
• The Home Office should improve the way information is provided to prospective students to ensure welcoming and clear language is used.

Lord Krebs, Chair of the Committee had this to say about the inquiry:

 “When we really need to send the message that international STEM students will get a warm welcome in the UK, they’re getting the cold shoulder and heading elsewhere. We’ve seen over the last few years how international student numbers have fallen dramatically, in particular from India.  As a result we’re missing out on the talent, the economic and cultural contribution that international students bring when they come here to study, and our competitors are reaping the rewards.”

 “The overwhelming evidence that we received led us to conclude that changes to the immigration rules in this country have played a direct part in putting overseas students off from choosing the UK.  The rules are seen as too complex and subject to endless changes, the visa costs are not competitive, and the rules relating to work after study are so limiting that prospective students are heading to the US, Australia, Canada and elsewhere.”

  “We are calling on the Government to overhaul its immigration policies – in particular it needs to do away with the new rules on working after study. Allowing just four months for a student to find work after graduation is more or less tantamount to telling overseas students they’d be better off going to study elsewhere.”