City leaders have attempted to mount a defence of the UK’s at-risk graduate visa, highlighting how it brings £5 billion net benefit to their economies.

Councillors representing 11 of the UK’s biggest councils outside of London – including Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Cardiff and Glasgow – have written to express their support for the visa to Brian Bell, the chair of the Migration Advisory Committee that has been tasked with investigating “abuses” in the country’s post-study work rights.

Ahead of the publication of the committee’s report, due on 14 May, the leaders write that “students coming to study in our cities from across the globe are a huge asset; bringing over £5 billion in net benefits to our city economies, contributing to our diverse and tolerant communities and helping us to build and foster links to cities and communities around the world”.

They say any restrictions on the route – which universities fear could be reduced or removed by the government following the MAC report publication – “will deter international students from choosing to study in our great cities or to stay beyond their degrees to innovate and help grow our economies”. 

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The fact that the route is being reviewed at all, along with the changes that banned master’s students from bringing dependants that came into place in January, “seems to be discouraging international student applications already”, the letter says.  

“Given the UK’s anaemic economic growth we should be looking to do more to increase the £60 billion that has been generated nationally since the opening of the graduate route in 2019 and not put that in jeopardy,” they say.

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Tory rebels are pushing for the government to make changes to the rules governing international students as part of efforts to bring down immigration.

Universities have already reported a slump in enrolments from international students, with further falls expected, and have warned that losing the graduate route as well could wreak untold economic damage.

The city leaders, who have also sent their letter to the home secretary James Cleverly, say the economic contribution the visa brings is “vital” for their regions. The Core Cities initiative has estimated the net economic impact for the 11 cities involved is £5.7 billion for the 2021-22 cohort.

“Looking at this from the perspective of our residents, on average we are welcoming around 5,000 international students to our cities a year with a net benefit of between £680 to £1,600 for our existing citizens,” the letter says. 

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“These benefits are not just felt within our cities but also spread across all of our respective city regions, for example in Sheffield where the same research estimates a further £250 million of net benefits across the rest of the South Yorkshire region in addition to the half a billion generated within Sheffield itself.”

International students further help the cities build relationships with counterparts around the world, the letter adds.

The leaders say that, like their own councils, universities “have been weakened by the sustained period of austerity and for many international students have offered a financial lifeline during this period”. 

“Any further restrictions will hit their incomes, which would likely mean universities having to scale back on vital research and cut courses available to UK students and threatening the viability of some institutions. 

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“As we look towards the general election and the opportunity to realise the true potential of our cities, we need to retain the world-class reputation of our universities and keep them open for students from across the globe.”

In further developments, a new report from London Economics on behalf of the Higher Education Policy Institute, Kaplan International Pathways and the National Union of Students has estimated there were 66,410 graduate route visa holders in the UK in 2022-23, including 56,460 main applicants and their 9,950 dependants.

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The total gross benefit to the UK from these visa holders was estimated at £588 million in increased tax revenue, equivalent to £10,410 per person in 2022-23. After costs, visa holders brought in a net benefit of £70 million, equivalent to £1,240 each.

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com