The soaring popularity of UK universities with Asian students helped to drive record net immigration to the UK from non-EU countries during 2019, according to figures released on Wednesday.
However, the Home Office warned in a release published alongside the figures for 2019 that applications for study visas had started to fall sharply in March, suggesting that last year’s gains will be reversed in 2020.
Wednesday’s figures largely predate the UK’s widespread lockdown to slow the spread of Covid-19, a move that has shattered the tight labour market that previously drew many migrants to the country. Attempts to curtail the disease’s spread across borders are also expected to limit overseas student travel in the coming academic year.
您已阅读25%（739字），剩余75%（2189字）包含更多重要信息，订阅以继续探索完整内容，并享受更多专属服务。