Latest news with #foreignstudents
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Sadiq Khan goes to war with Keir Starmer over foreign student clampdown with London mayor telling PM UK should keep universities 'open'
Sadiq Khan today hit out at Keir Starmer 's plan to cut the number of foreign students coming to Britain in his latest clash with the Labour leadership. The London mayor used a visit to Ghana to say UK universities should remain 'open' to overseas students, after a new immigration clampdown was announced in May. It will see the amount of time post-graduate students can spend in the UK after completing their course cut from two years to 18 months. A new levy on income that universities generate from international students could also be introduced. It follows changes introduced by the former Conservative government in January 2024 that banned almost all international students from bringing dependents like spouses and children with them. In a written article for the radio station LBC's website, Sir Sadiq said the levy risked 'putting off young people from coming to cities like London and piling yet another burden on our strained higher education sector'. 'Closing our country to global talent would be a pointless act of immense economic self-harm, slowing down growth and leaving working people in every part of the UK worse off,' he said. 'Instead, we must make the argument for openness, confident in the immense contribution that international students make to our prosperity.' It is Sir Sadiq's latest attempt to distance himself from the Labour government, having also supported recent demands from backbench MPs to water down benefit cuts. He also criticised the PM for using the phrase 'island of strangers' in an immigration speech earlier this year. The difference between the number of people moving to the UK and leaving the country is estimated to have halved, in the biggest fall in net migration since the pandemic. The figure stood at an estimated 431,000 in the year ending December 2024, down 49.9 per cent from 860,000 a year earlier, the Office for National Statistics said. This is the biggest calendar-year drop since the early stages of the pandemic when net migration fell from 184,000 in the year ending December 2019 to 93,000 in the year ending December 2020. The latest decrease is the largest numerical drop on record and the ONS said the decline has been driven by falling numbers of people coming to work and study in the UK. Long-term immigration fell below one million for the first time in around three years. But Sir Sadiq said: 'Whilst we can and must make the economic argument for keeping our country open to global talent, I don't think it quite captures all that is at stake in this debate. The students who come to London don't just bring billions for our economy. They come with something that cannot be measured in currency alone: new ideas, different cultures and diverse perspectives. When they return, they bring a bit of Britain back with them, too. In an increasingly divided world, there is strength to be found in this kind of collaboration, not least with a continent home to the youngest and fastest-growing population on Earth.
Reuters
14-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
New Zealand aims to double foreign international education market by 2034
WELLINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - New Zealand plans to double its international education market by 2034 by offering incentives that include relaxing rules around foreign students working part-time while studying, the government said on Monday. Education Minister Erica Stanford said in a statement that with international student enrolments steadily increasing since 2023, the government wants to "supercharge that growth track" to reach NZ$7.2 billion ($4.32 billion) by 2034. The announcement comes as wildly popular international student destinations Australia and the United States look to reduce foreign students, with universities in competing markets vying to capitalise on those restrictions. "In the short term, Education New Zealand will focus its promotional efforts on markets with the highest potential for growth," Stanford added. New Zealand's international education market is currently worth NZ$3.6 billion to the economy and the government. The government wants to see international student enrolments grow from 83,700 in 2024 to 105,000 in 2027 and 119,000 by 2034 and double its value to the economy. To encourage more foreign students to come to New Zealand, the government plans to increase the part-time work hours for eligible international students from 20 to 25, as well as extending eligibility for work rights to all tertiary students in approved exchange or study abroad programmes. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has curbed visas for foreign students, especially those from China. In May, the White House revoked Harvard University's ability to enrol foreign students, a move later blocked by a federal judge. Australia's government capped the enrolment number of new international students to 270,000 for 2025, in an effort to rein in record migration that has contributed to a spike in home rental prices. For New Zealand, which has struggled with soft growth, the move is the latest in a spate of measures to improve an ailing economy, following changes to visa settings to encourage digital nomads and attract foreign investment. ($1 = 1.6672 New Zealand dollars)
CNA
09-07-2025
- Politics
- CNA
US subpoenas Harvard for records of foreign student protesters
NEW YORK: The US government said Wednesday (Jul 9) it subpoenaed Harvard University for records linked to students allegedly involved in a wave of pro-Palestinian student protests that the Trump administration labelled antisemitic. Since being sworn in again in January, President Donald Trump has targeted top US universities over claims they are politically biased towards anti-Jewish hate and "woke" politics. Trump has waged a political and economic campaign against Harvard, stripping it of funds and demanding extensive records linked to foreign students, whom it has repeatedly attempted to block the prestigious university from enrolling and hosting. The administration has characterised widespread campus protests and sit-ins in the United States calling for an end to Israel's war in Gaza as being "antisemitic," and moved to expel foreign students and professors who took part in them. "After many previous requests to hand over relevant information concerning foreign students, DHS will now send subpoenas forcing Harvard to comply," the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement. Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that "Harvard, like other universities, has allowed foreign students to abuse their visa privileges and advocate for violence and terrorism on campus." The subpoena demands that Harvard turn over "relevant records, communications, and other documents relevant to the enforcement of immigration laws since Jan 1, 2020," according to the statement. RETALIATORY Harvard said in a statement that "while the government's subpoenas are unwarranted, the University will continue to cooperate with lawful requests and obligations," adding that the measure was "retaliatory." Also on Wednesday, Washington told the body responsible for accrediting Harvard as a university that its accreditation should be revoked after finding last week that it violated federal civil rights laws by failing to protect Jewish students. Harvard was among a host of US universities swept by the wave of student protests against the war in Gaza. Trump has made the question of student protests, particularly by foreign scholars, a flashpoint political issue. A proclamation issued by the White House last month sought to bar most new international students at Harvard from entering the country, and said existing foreign enrollees risked having their visas terminated. Harvard challenged the move in court, and a judge blocked the administration from enforcing the policy. International students at Harvard, who accounted for 27 per cent of total enrollment in the 2024-2025 academic year, are a major source of income for the Ivy League institution. The government has already cut around US$3.2 billion of federal grants and contracts benefiting Harvard and pledged to exclude the Cambridge, Massachusetts, institution from any future federal funding. Harvard has been at the forefront of Trump's campaign against top universities after it defied his calls to submit to oversight of its curriculum, staffing, student recruitment and "viewpoint diversity." Unlike Harvard, several top institutions - including New York's Columbia University
Globe and Mail
09-07-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Immigration caps are contributing to lower asking rents in Canada, CMHC says
Canada's caps on foreign students and new residents have contributed to reduced demand for rental housing and lower average asking rents in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Halifax, according to a new study from the national housing agency. Over the past year, the average asking monthly rent fell between 2 per cent and 8 per cent in condos and rental-only apartments – also known as purpose-built rentals – said the report released Tuesday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp (CMHC). The drop was due to a surge in new condos and apartment buildings hitting the market along with limits on temporary foreign residents such as students and new permanent residents. As of April, temporary residents accounted for 7.1 per cent of the country's total population, according to Statistics Canada. That compared with the peak of 7.4 per cent in October of last year. 'It is quite evident on the demand side that there have been signs of weakening,' said Tania Bourassa-Ochoa, CMHC's deputy chief economist, adding that there were stronger rental declines in regions with slower population growth. The average asking monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Vancouver was $3,001 in the first quarter of this year, a 4.9-per-cent drop from the same period in 2024. In comparison, the average asking rent increased 4.5 per cent from 2023 to 2024, according to the study. Opinion: Why have a target for cutting temporary immigration if Canada can't meet it? In Calgary, the average asking rent was $1,872 in the first quarter of this year, a 3.5-per-cent decline from the same period in 2024. That compared with a 17-per-cent rise in the previous year. In Toronto, the average asking rent was $2,522 in the first quarter of this year, a 3.7-per-cent drop over the same period in 2024. That compared with a 3.8-per-cent increase in the previous year. And in Halifax, the average asking rent was $2,171, a decline of 4.2 per cent from 2024 compared with an 8.7-per-cent increase in the previous year. For rental condos, which are typically owned by individual investors, the average asking monthly rent for a two-bedroom unit in Vancouver fell 4.8 per cent this year compared with an increase of 1.2 per cent in the previous year. In Calgary, the asking rent declined 3.6 per cent this year compared with a 10.7-per-cent rise in the previous year. In Toronto, the asking rent fell 1.7 per cent this year after a 0.5-per-cent decline in the previous year. And in Halifax, the decline was 8.3 per cent this year compared with an 11.7-per-cent rise in the previous year. Inside the race to convert vacant offices into rental homes The study said the cap on international students is influencing rental demand in British Columbia, Ontario and Nova Scotia. However, CMHC did not provide data for cities with a large proportion of post-secondary students such as London, Kingston and Kitchener in Ontario. The study builds on a recent quarterly report from the housing agency and Statistics Canada that surveys average asking rents across the country and is designed to reflect current rental rates. The government's other rental reports include rates for housing units that are already occupied, which skews the current state of the rental market.
Bloomberg
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Harvard-White House Talks Stall, Threatening Quick Settlement
Harvard University 's talks with the White House have stalled, according to a person familiar with the matter, threatening a quick resolution to a standoff that's threatening the school's finances and upending foreign student plans. A potential deal was knocked off course last week although hopes remain for an accord, said the person, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. Harvard didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.
