Comings and goings

Statistics are out on migration, and on university incomes and expenditures

The past two weeks have seen a report on the hefty amount international students contribute to university finances, an announcement that international students, apart from those on postgraduate research programmes, will no longer be able to bring dependants from January 2024, and a warning about over-reliance on international students from a small number of countries. 

All were published in anticipation of a single number—the net migration figure for 2021-22. This figure was released by the Office for National Statistics yesterday. At 606,000, it was less than the predictions of more than 700,000 that had been flagged for weeks, but still a lot more than the 488,000 figure for the previous year (although the way the figures are calculated has changed slightly). The number was driven by arrivals from outside the EU—more EU nationals are now leaving than arriving.