Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential economic effect of (a) reducing and (b) increasing the number of international students studying at UK universities.

There is no limit on the number of genuine international students who can come to study here, and the reforms we have made to tackle abuse have not deterred
the brightest and the best from coming to study at our world-class universities.

Figures show that there has been an increase of 18% in visa applications from university students compared to 2010 and increase of 30% for those wishing to attend a Russell Group university compared to 2010.

Higher education statistics for the academic year 2013-14 show that there has been strong growth in countries such as Malaysia (+13%) and Hong Kong (+7%). Chinese new entrants have also more than doubled since 2008-09.