The number of international students applying to undergraduate courses at UK universities has risen for a second year running.
New data shows 115,730 students from outside the UK applied to start in September, up from 114,910 last year.
It comes despite tougher government rules to help “slash migration”.
And it follows accusations universities have lowered standards to recruit overseas students, who can be charged far more than UK students.
The claims have sparked a review of admissions processes.
‘Highly unpredictable’
The number of international applicants remains below the high of 116,110 before the Covid pandemic.
Numbers fell over the next two years, when international travel was restricted, but have since been recovering.
Universities and Colleges Admissions Services (Ucas) chief executive Dr Jo Saxton said the rise in international-student applications should “not be a cause of concern for prospective domestic students”, because UK applications had also risen in recent years.
Most international students in the UK study postgraduate courses, such as master’s degrees, but they are not reflected in the new Ucas data.
‘Significant decreases’
Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, which represents 142 higher-education institutions, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the data was not fully representative and universities were “worried” overall international-student numbers could still fall.
“Last year, despite applications going up, actually we saw some quite significant decreases in enrolments,” she said.
“It’s unstable and that’s seriously bad for universities because… they need international students to fund domestic education.”
Asked about the effect of any future fall in the numbers, Ms Stern said: “In the end, I think it will make it more difficult for universities to offer places to home students.”