How many international students are in the UK?

Two official sources answer this. HESA counts international students enrolled at UK universities by country of domicile in its student statistics. The Home Office counts study visas: there were 383,455 sponsored study visas granted in the year ending June 2026, 11% fewer than a year earlier and 41% below the peak of 652,072 in the year ending June 2023, according to its immigration system statistics published on 27 August 2026.

Of those grants, 365,868 went to main applicants. Dependant visas fell sharply after January 2024, when most international students lost the right to bring family members.

Visa grants are not the same as students enrolled: a visa may be issued and the student not arrive, and EU students with settled status do not need one. Name the source and period. See our guide to Home Office statistics.

Official sources: Home Office: why do people come to the UK? Study · HESA: student data

The latest figure

The newest value is at Home Office. More on it: Work visas granted (UK).

When is the next figure out?

Quarterly in Immigration system statistics (next: 26 November 2026, covering the year ending September 2026). The Home Office also publishes monthly provisional figures on applications for key work routes. File URLs change each quarter

Every official release due in the next two weeks is on the release calendar.

Terms used in this answer

• Net migration
  Long-term immigration minus long-term emigration over a period, usually a rolling year. It measures the net change in population from migration.
• Rolling average
  An average recalculated each period over a fixed window, such as the latest three months or twelve months, to smooth out short-term ups and downs.
• Administrative data
  Information collected by organisations while running a service, such as tax records, benefit claims or hospital activity, and then used to produce statistics.
• Headline figure
  The main summary number that a statistical release leads with, such as annual CPI inflation or quarterly GDP growth. Other measures in the same release can tell a different story.

Where the figures come from

• Higher education and student finance statistics (HESA, Student Loans Company, Office for Students and DfE)
  Official figures on UK student numbers, international students, student loan debt, graduate earnings, university finances and apprenticeships.
• Home Office statistics (immigration, borders and policing)
  Find Home Office figures on small boat arrivals, asylum, hotels, visas, returns, detention, police numbers and stop and search, and how to read them.

Related questions

• What is the Graduate route visa and how many people get it?
• What is net migration to the UK?
• How many students are there in UK universities?

This answer says where the official figures are published and how they are defined. It gives no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request. More questions about universities and student finance: all Universities and student finance questions.