Third, public opinion does not think of international students as immigrants and therefore does not worry about them in the same way as it worries about other migrants. International students are part of the lifeblood of British universities, for their intellectual and cultural contribution, but also for their fees. Any policy to reduce immigration to the tens of thousands inevitably involves a large cut in international students. The chancellor of the exchequer, Philip Hammond, is currently leading efforts within government to exclude foreign students from the migration numbers. If only for the sake of Britain’s universities, international students from the EU and beyond should indeed be removed from the immigration numbers.

Source: The Guardian November 30, 2016 19:54 UTC