UK universities say visa curbs hitting them in the pocket

LONDON

Restrictions on visas for international students is causing financial hardship for U.K. universities, they said, calling for a hike in domestic tuition fees to offset yawning deficits.

The president of Universities U.K. (UUK), which represents 141 British higher education institutions, said all its universities were "feeling the crunch" since the curbs came in last year.

"There is now a clear choice: we can allow our distinguished, globally competitive higher education system to slide into decline or we can act together," said Sally Mapstone.

The total income of the British higher education sector in 2022-23 was just over 50 billion pounds ($66 billion), most of it from tuition fees and grants.

Typically, international students pay more in tuition fees than their domestic counterparts and have become a lucrative source of income for many institutions.

But the previous government under Conservative ex-prime minister Rishi Sunak slapped restrictions on overseas student visas, banning many from bringing their families, as part of a crackdown on record levels of immigration.

In the first four months of 2024, there were 30,000 fewer applications from overseas than in the same period in 2023.

Universities have been warning for months about the effect on their finances, with fears shortfalls could see them slash courses and force some to the wall.

Mapstone told a UUK conference in Reading that the current deficit in the sector was 1.7 billion pounds for teaching and 5 billion pounds for research.

She urged "investment and support" from the government to maintain world-class teaching and research.

Tuition fees paid by domestic students rose from 9,000 pounds to 9,250 pounds a year in 2017 but have been frozen since then, despite inflation.