EU student enrolment in the UK has nosedived by 53%
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) of the UK shows that in the first year after Brexit, that is, the 2017/2018 academic year, the enrolment of EU students in British universities declined slightly by about 7%. As reported by UCAS, in 2017, about 42,000 first-year EU students came to the UK to study. Back in 2017, negotiations for the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement were still underway, and even if uncertainty reigned about the final agreement's terms, EU students knew that they could enjoy a transition period of at least a few years.
The real nosedive came when the agreement was finally signed in 2020, and its rules were enacted in January 2021. The HESA reports that for the 2021/2022 academic year, only about 31,000 first-year EU students, both at the undergraduate and postgraduate level, came to the UK. This represents a 53% dive as compared to pre-2021 levels. The strongest decline came from Germany, Italy, France and Greece. A handful of less powerful EU countries – Romania, Poland, Portugal, Ireland – experienced a small uptick in the number of students they send to the UK, but their increase is too small to compensate for the overall decrease in EU students.
Since January 2021, these EU students have been subject to the same rules as non-EU students from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas. They need to apply for a student visa under the Student Route; they have overseas fee status instead of home fee status, and they cannot apply for tuition fee loans provided by the Student Loans Company (SLC) because it is a body of the UK government. They can still get competitive scholarships, including scholarships from the UK Government like the Chevening and Commonwealth Scholarships, but they cannot take out repayable loans.
As mentioned above, overseas fees in the UK are two or three times higher than home fees. At the lower end, overseas fees are around £15,000 per year. The average overseas fees are around £22,000/year. At more prestigious universities like the London School of Economics, they're closer to £30,000. For medical school, they can be close to £70,000 per year.
On top of that, the UK notoriously has one of the most expensive student visas in the world. The visa itself costs £363, but international students also need to pay an Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) of £624 per year. The NHS is facing funding and staffing problems, which means that this fee is likely to keep going up. EU students can often get a waiver from their UK university from taking the IELTS language test, but they can't be waived out of paying visa and IHS fees, which total up to slightly over £1,000.
Mobility has become more difficult, too. EU students now have to wait in much longer queues with non-EU nationals at British airports. They cannot immediately start working in the UK after graduating but need to apply for a Graduate Visa, which costs £715, like other international graduates.
EU students are choosing more affordable destinations within the union or in North America
With all these financial and administrative hurdles now in place in the UK, it's no wonder that many EU students prefer going to other countries that are still within the union. Some are also going to Canada, possibly because of the accessibility and attractiveness of long-term immigration there.
Which EU countries have seen a big increase in intra-EU student enrolment since Brexit?
Germany
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) reports that the number of international students in the country increased by a stunning 26% between the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 academic years. For 2021/2022, it rose again by a more modest 8%.
Italy and France are now among the top sending countries to Germany, with around 10,000 new Italian and around 7,000 new French students enrolling in 2023, according to data from the Wissenschaft Weltoffen. This has happened concurrently with a decrease in French and Italian students in the UK. The German Association for International Students (DEGIS) found in a 2021 survey that the absence of tuition fees was the primary motivating factor of 45% of international students in the country.
The Netherlands
Back in 2020, the PIE News had conducted a survey among EU students about the alternative destinations they would choose if they lost home fee status in the UK (which eventually happened). Half of them had chosen the Netherlands as the top alternative.
Dutch universities offer multiple programs in English, especially in the area of science and technology (although the government is thinking of limiting the use of English in the sector!). In 2021, right when EU students lost Home Fee status in the UK, the enrolment of these students in Dutch universities shot up by 14%, reports Nuffic.
France
Like in Germany, public higher education in France is free for all EU students. Non-EU students, on the other hand, pay some low tuition fees. Since the terms of Brexit came into effect in early 2021, France has seen an increase in enrolment from neighboring countries, especially from Spain (+16% in 2021), Italy (+25%) and Germany (+17%).
Campus France reports that Italians are now the 4th largest body of international students in the country. They experienced a stunning 57% increase between 2016-2021, and at the current rate, around 20,000 new Italian students are coming to study in France every year. Spanish students have similarly experienced a 51% increase, and Portuguese students have had a 48% increase in France since 2016. Spain currently sends around 12,000 new students there every year, and Portugal 8,000 new students.
Ireland
Ireland is an attractive alternative to the UK for those who are seeking an education in an English-speaking country on the European continent. Apart from preserving all of the advantages of still being an EU member state, it has more affordable tuition fees. The PIE News reports that, since 2021, multiple Irish universities have registered an uptick in EU students, from an 8% increase at the prestigious Trinity College Dublin to a 34% increase at the University of Limerick.
A marketing analytics consultant at Studyportals says that many students from less wealthy countries of the EU, such as Romania and Poland, are now interested in Ireland because they are no longer eligible for student loans in the UK. However, Ireland still faces tough competition from more popular European destinations like Germany and the Netherlands.
Spain
Spain has also experienced an increase in students from neighboring European countries that speak a Romance language and from Germany. In 2021, the number of new Italian students in Spain increased by 8.8% to around 10,000, while the number of new French students increased by 26.4% to around 7,000. German students increased by 21.9% to about 7,000 new students, too. Spain doesn't offer free higher education to EU nationals, but its tuition fees remain low, around €1,000-2,000 per year.
Canada
Brexit has also triggered a transatlantic shift in the mobility of European students. Inside Higher Ed reports that, since 2021, there has been a sharp increase in the number of Canadian study permits granted to EU nationals. Depending on the country, that increase has ranged from 10% to 80%. German, French, Belgian and Danish students are experiencing a particularly high increase. For instance, between 2019 and 2021, German students in Canada increased by 70%, at the very same time that German enrolment in British universities nosedived by half. The Canadian government has set in place many visa options and incentives for the long-term immigration of skilled immigrants, which tends to attract even those who have to pay higher international fees.
