MPs call for reclassification of immigrant students

A group of MPs is calling on the government to adjust the way in which it classifies students who have come to study in the UK from other countries. The Business Innovation and Skills Committee has published a report in which it says international students should no longer be included in net migration figures.

However, Mark Harper, the newly appointed minister for immigration, has already said he will not support the change. The MPs want students from overseas to be classified in a different way to other immigrants as a way of encouraging more to apply to UK universities. By not being included in net migration figures, students would also be exempt from the limit on immigrant numbers allowed into the country.

Business Innovation and Skills Committee chairman, Adrian Bailey MP, argued that students coming from overseas not only contribute to the UK economy but also showcase the country as a place in which to do business. He added that by reclassifying those who have come to study the government can continue in its aim to cut the number of immigrants crossing the border, while the universities concentrate on attracting the brightest foreign students.

Mr Harper has argued that students need to remain under the net migration umbrella because the United Nations defines students from other countries as migrants.

He added that the government was committed to attracting the best people to the UK’s world clash education establishments, and that there was no cap on the number of students allowed.