It was noted at the session that it was “…the norm…for the countries that are the main destinations globally for international students to incorporate international students within immigration figures”. We were asked if we knew of any good practice models used to support and attract international students in countries - such as Australia and the USA - which counted international students within the overall immigration numbers.
As we weren’t immediately aware of any models, we were invited to respond in writing.
The United Nations (UN) defines a long-term immigrant as anyone moving into a country for more than 12 months, and a long-term emigrant as anyone leaving for more than 12 months. Therefore, in reporting migration figures to the UN, Australia, Canada and the USA include students in these migration figures.
However, these countries re-classify international students as temporary or non-immigrant admissions, or as temporary or non-permanent residents for the purposes of public policy-making. Since it is therefore not customary to count international students within the net migration numbers in Australia and the USA (apart from when they return data to the UN), the context of implementing any good practice models to support and attract international students in those countries will be different to the UK.
Yours sincerely
Amanda Wilkinson
Director