In
the first three months of 2024 (January, February, March), the latest data from
the UK Home Office shows that 40,700 “sponsored study” visa applications were
filed by international students, compared with 72,800 in the same period in
2023 – amounting to a 44% decrease overall.
The
main driver of the decline is a dramatic fall-off in applications for
accompanying dependants.In 2023, there were 39,900 “main applicant” submissions
for study visas and 32,900 dependant applications. By Comparison, in the same
time frame in 2024, there were 34,000 submissions from “main applicants” (-15%
from 2023) and only 6,700 for dependants (-80%). Leaving aside
dependant-applicants for a moment, this means that the volume of applications
for “main applicants” has declined by just over -27% over the last two years.
The
chart below shows the spike in applications from both main applicants and
dependants in the months just after the May 2023 announcement of the ban on
dependants (other than those attached to students pursuing postgraduate
research degrees). The volume of applications then began to fall in September
2023. The “main applicants” volume picked up again in October-December 2023,
but not to the same level as in those months in 2022. Dependants’ applications
continued to decline through March 2024.