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A university boss has called for the ban on international students bringing their families to the UK while they study to be repealed. Professor Sasha Roseneil, vice chancellor of the University of Sussex, said there was an “ethical argument” and “enlightened self-interest” in repealing the ban put in place by the Conservative government earlier this year. The ban means that international students are unable to bring their families to the UK with them while they study in the country.
Professor Roseneil made the comments as universities face what she called “financial peril” amid the cost-of-living crisis and tuition fee freezes which are set to end. Writing for university think tank Hepi, the University of Sussex boss said: “International postgraduate students are the glue here. Their fees are not just welcome but essential; it is their presence in our universities that makes courses in many areas [.
..] and the professions viable.
“There is clearly an ethical argument here, and there is also enlightened self-interest. The University of Sussex (Image: The Argus) Do we really want to be a country that closes the door to all that our universities can offer to students, especially female students, from the global south and from less advantaged backgrounds, who are making huge sacrifices to come to the UK, because we have not worked out a way to report our net migration figures to distinguish international students from those coming to the UK to permanently make their homes here?” International student visa applications have declined in recent years after teaching and travel was disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Nationally, the Home Office granted 6.
2 per cent less student visas to applicants in the year to March 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. And 16 per cent fewer applications were received for sponsored student visa applications from January to the end of July compared to the year before. International student fees have proved a financial lifeline for many universities.
UK-based student fees will be capped at £9,535 for undergraduates from 2025 whereas the University of Sussex charges over £26,000 for some overseas students. A Department for Education spokesman said the new Labour government had “no plans” to repeal the ban..
