International students boost the London economy by more than £2billion and support 70,000 jobs in the capital according to new research.
The study, by consultancy firm PwC and business lobby London First, was published as ministers consider stricter curbs on visas for foreign students.
Researchers found international students in London contribute £2.8billon a year to gross domestic product through tuition fees, subsistence spending and income from visiting friends and family.
This is offset by an estimated £540million cost to public services such as the NHS.
Julia Onslow-Cole, head of global immigration at PwCLegal, told the Financial Times: “Our report blows out of the water any suggestion that their effect on the economy is marginal.”
According to the report 60 per cent of students said they were more likely to do business with the UK as a result of studying here. But more than a third said difficulty with visas had undermined their experiences of studying in the UK.
Universities are bracing themselves for further reforms to the visa system as the Conservative government revives its aim to cut net migration by more than two-thirds. Under the coalition there was a dispute over whether overseas students should be included in the net migration figures, with home secretary Theresa May arguing to keep students in the target.
Jo Johnson, the new universities minister, argued three years ago that students should be classified as temporary immigrants, as they are in Australia, Canada and the US.
Responding to today’s research, immigration minister James Brokenshire said it was right to include students within the net migration figure because “all immigrants who are in the UK have an impact on our communities, on housing and on our public services.”
