In an effort to reduce the country's growing net migration, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be reviewing "all alternatives," including limiting the number of international students.
According to the report, which cited a representative for Downing Street, Mr Sunak will investigate putting restrictions on dependents and foreign students pursuing allegedly "low quality" degrees. However, the spokesman did not specify what a "low quality" degree is.
The most recent Office for National Statistics (ONS) numbers this week that indicated a significant increase in the number of migrants sparked the UK government's worries about increased migration. Net migration to the UK increased by 331,000 from 173,000 in 2021 to 504,000 this year.
International students had a significant role in this increase, particularly Indians who for the first time surpassed Chinese applicants for student visas.
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However, limiting the number of international students provides a challenging issue in reducing the number of migrants. According to the research, British universities rely on higher fees from international students to make up for the money they lose by charging British students a lesser cost. Some colleges even run the risk of going bankrupt if limitations are placed on allegedly low-quality degrees.
On Friday, a group of students led by the Indian community petitioned the government to exclude overseas students from the nation's immigration figures.
"Students who are in the UK temporarily, should not be counted as migrants. International students, of which Indians are the biggest cohort, bring a net revenue of GBP 30 billion into the British economy," said Sanam Arora, Chair of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK.
The Sunak government has pledged to reduce net migration to the UK after Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who is of Indian descent, earlier voiced her concerns over Indian students who overstayed their visas.
"I have concerns about having an open borders migration policy with India because I don't think that's what people voted for with Brexit. Look at migration in this country - the largest group of people who overstay are Indian migrants," she had said.
