Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 22 July (HL901), how many internationally domiciled entrants to UK higher education have no previous qualifications.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK higher education (HE) sector. HESA do not publish data on the highest qualification on entry to HE of international students. Caution is advised when interpreting entry qualifications for international students, as qualifications obtained overseas may not align with the categories defined by HESA. Providers are responsible for determining an appropriate qualification level for qualifications earned overseas.

Analysis of the HESA Student data by the department shows that 1,635 non-UK domiciled entrants to UK HE (undergraduate and postgraduate) in 2024/25 had no formal qualifications.