As Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on International Students I have commented on new exit checks data showing that 97 per cent of international students leave the UK after finishing their studies and the Government’s announcement of a study into the impact of international students in the UK to be carried out by the Migration Advisory Committee:

The figures published by the Office of National Statistics confirm what many of us have been arguing – that international students make no real impact on net migration. It’s therefore damaging to include them in migration targets, with policies that discourage them from coming to the UK. International students enrich the learning environment for UK students, add to the research capacity of our universities which supports business growth, and contribute massively to the economy, creating tens of thousands of jobs in towns and cities across the country. The review commissioned by the Government must be the first step in changing course and re-establishing the UK as the first choice for international students.

You can find out more about my work on international students issues here.