Sign up to Gransnet Daily
Our free daily newsletter full of hot threads, competitions and discounts
Subscribe
Suella Braverman, Reform UK’s education spokesperson, says today, Reform UK would stop foreign students who are resident in the UK accessing student loans.
In recent years universities have become increasingly dependent on foreign students. They can charge them much higher fees, and the income from foreign students helps to fund the teaching for students from Britain, whose fees are capped.
The Reform UK policy would not affect these foreign students – because they cannot access the UK student loan system anyway. Instead, the policy would apply to UK resident foreign students – e.g. EU nationals with settled status (permission to live in the UK granted as part of the Brexit settlement, because they were here before) and foreigners with indefinite leave to remain in the UK.
Explaining the policy, Reform UK said: "Currently, 270,000 - 300,000 UK resident foreign nationals access £4bn worth of taxpayer-backed student loans each year, many of which are unlikely ever to be repaid. At the same time, British graduates face long-term debt and rising living costs. This measure will save approximately £2bn annually." The party said resident foreign students from Hong Kong and Ukraine would not be covered by this policy.
As the Reform UK party acknowledges in its news release, stopping people with EU settled status living in the UK from accessing the UK student loan system would require a renegotiation of the UK’s Brexit deal with the EU. The EU would not give up this concession lightly, and any attempt to renege on the agreement could lead to Brussels imposing retaliatory measures of its own.
Would a classic degree from a non Russel group university be a poor degree?
I think this is where snobbery comes into play.
Oreo
As one of the Russell Group of Universities obvs Oxford is an excellent one, and they don’t do meaningless degrees there.
So the young person I know obviously doesn't belong to the "body of students" you are disparaging, even though she is most certainly foreign. Her parents have been in the UK eight years and haven't applied for citizenship yet, although the whole family has the legal right to remain.
I wonder how many more wouldn't belong to your "body of students".
JaneJudge
I have never understood the desire to keep people uneducated. Access to education changes lives, no matter who you are or where you come from. Education for educations sake is a good thing too
Education for educations sake is a waste of useful time when the person needs to earn a living, Ive never stopped learning but paying the rent came first. The priority should always be to support yourself and family, when you have achieved that by all means learn more
I do my best not to rise to some of your comments twaddle and this is no exception.😉
JaneJudge
Would a classic degree from a non Russel group university be a poor degree?
I think this is where snobbery comes into play.
That entirely depends on the University and the degree.
Why do Reform so many of their manifesto pledges have the word "foreign" or "immigrant" embedded somewhere? IMO it's because they are basically a racist organisation that wants to appeal to the racists in our society. Of course people with settled status should have access to education and if they need financial support they should be treated just like any other student if they satisfy the eligibility rules. We need well educated people, they are an asset to the country regardless of whether they were born here or chose to settle here.
David49 this thread is about young people?
Someone educated to a degree level entering a workforce is a good thing not a bad thing. If only there were entry level apprenticeships in abundance and investment in education from employers
Oreo, any classic degree from any university? Local people from local firms accessing further learning at local colleges and universities? Where does the value in education start and where does it stop?
Oreo
I do my best not to rise to some of your comments twaddle and this is no exception.😉
If you don't want to give clarification, you could stop making sweeping generalisations.
AGAA4
I don't think sending a lot of sixteen or eighteen year olds out onto the job market would work either. The jobs are no longer there for them. Just more people claiming benefit.
We live in a different world. The jobs that were available when I was young for those with few qualifications don't exist. Apprenticeships are rare.
I think university is more than just about work. Education is never a bad thing.
I don't like the term 'spongers'. It's derogatory and unfair to those who try very hard to get work. I know some young people who, although having good degrees, are doing 'lowly' jobs while searching.
Tarring them all with the same brush is very wrong.
👏👏👏👏👏
Practical courses at College are more rewarding for many who are simply filtered into Universities.
What sort of practical courses Oreo? They all cost money now
I think this is most probably a different thread though 🙂
"Someone educated to a degree level entering a workforce is a good thing not a bad thing. If only there were entry level apprenticeships in abundance and investment in education from employers"
There isnt a problem for graduates or any other education level that actually learned a skill that employers want, a great many graduates dont find work because they have not learned a skill that employers need. At 23 yrs old with a debt of £60k they have to start from scratch and learn something useful that employers do want.
Few employers offer apprenticeships because many young people are not ready for the commitment of work when they leave school. In return for the practical training an employer gives he expects commitment and a useful worker.
Oreo
Practical courses at College are more rewarding for many who are simply filtered into Universities.
What an incredibly narrow view of "education" Many university courses are a blend of theoretical study blended with the practical application of that theory. Many "practical" courses are underpinned with theory most courses teach people to think, plan, communicate etc. OH has an engineering degree, he's always used it in a practical way. Nephew has a natural sciences degree and is a banker, niece has a geography degree and works in the charity sector, daughter has a sociology degree followed by a masters in creative studies, she's a published poet and works part time in a book shop, I've got a BEd, have taught in secondary and further education, worked in publishing and training. Education is a door not a destination!
Not all students take the full loans David. Lots just take the loans to cover the course fees, many live with family whilst they do this.
Maremia
What's wrong with 'the country we have today'?
Where to start?
JaneJudge
Would a classic degree from a non Russel group university be a poor degree?
I think this is where snobbery comes into play.
The people I know of who graduated from non Russell, former polytechnic universities are now in their mid 30s, working in senior roles with salaries in the 40% tax bracket.
Without a degree, a person will be at a huge disadvantage when applying for a managerial or senior role since employers expect the applicant to have a degree.
As for Nigel Farage, it is just a lot of baloney if he thinks he can re-negotiate the Brexit deal with EU to stop EU citizens with settled status from accessing UK student loans or welfare benefits. EU will never agree to that.
Why should the UK taxpayer subsidise foreign students, many of whom do not repay their loans?
Our son studied at University in the Czech Republic for 3 years, we paid his tuition etc, no loans were available.
Here’s the stats;
As of April 2025, 6.1 million borrowers (English and EU nationals with loans from Student Finance England) are in Repayment. Of the 6.1 million, 286,000 (4.6%) reside overseas, of which 85,000 (29.7%) are EU nationals and 201,000 (70.3%) are English UK nationals. Full details can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loans-in-england-2024-to-2025(opens in a new tab).
In November 2025, 60.3% of borrowers residing overseas (EU and UK nationals) were compliant, and 39.7% non-compliant. The compliance rate for UK borrowers was 62.3%, and for EU borrowers 55.4%.
The Student Loans Company (SLC) recovers approximately £10 million per month from customers residing overseas (both UK and EU nationals) at cost of approximately £339,000 per month. This is a return on investment of approximately 30:1.
In the 2024/25 financial year, SLC’s repayments evasion unit recovered £7.7 million from non-compliant overseas borrowers. If the SLC is unable to recover outstanding debt directly from borrowers overseas, the account will be referred to a Debt Collection Agency (DCA). On average, DCAs deliver a return on investment of £5 for every £1 spent. From April 2024 to March 2025, recoveries from overseas borrowers stand at £3.74 million.
A full equality impact assessment of how the student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published in February 2022 and can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment(opens in a new tab).
Sago
Why should the UK taxpayer subsidise foreign students, many of whom do not repay their loans?
Our son studied at University in the Czech Republic for 3 years, we paid his tuition etc, no loans were available.
Here’s the stats;
As of April 2025, 6.1 million borrowers (English and EU nationals with loans from Student Finance England) are in Repayment. Of the 6.1 million, 286,000 (4.6%) reside overseas, of which 85,000 (29.7%) are EU nationals and 201,000 (70.3%) are English UK nationals. Full details can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/statistics/student-loans-in-england-2024-to-2025(opens in a new tab).
In November 2025, 60.3% of borrowers residing overseas (EU and UK nationals) were compliant, and 39.7% non-compliant. The compliance rate for UK borrowers was 62.3%, and for EU borrowers 55.4%.
The Student Loans Company (SLC) recovers approximately £10 million per month from customers residing overseas (both UK and EU nationals) at cost of approximately £339,000 per month. This is a return on investment of approximately 30:1.
In the 2024/25 financial year, SLC’s repayments evasion unit recovered £7.7 million from non-compliant overseas borrowers. If the SLC is unable to recover outstanding debt directly from borrowers overseas, the account will be referred to a Debt Collection Agency (DCA). On average, DCAs deliver a return on investment of £5 for every £1 spent. From April 2024 to March 2025, recoveries from overseas borrowers stand at £3.74 million.
A full equality impact assessment of how the student loan reforms may affect graduates, including detail on changes to average lifetime repayments under Plan 5, was produced and published in February 2022 and can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-reform-equality-impact-assessment(opens in a new tab).
Sago, it's not clear whether your son was living in the Czech Republic for three years before he began his uni course there, whether he began his course after the Brexit agreement and whether he had applied for and secure EU settled status?
This thread is not about foreign students but about students living in this country, have lived in the country for three years before they begin their uni course and have EU "settled status" following the Brexit agreement. Reform claims it will take away the legal rights of that cohort of students who live in the UK with EU settled status as enshrined in the Brexit agreement, to apply for student loans.
"Foreign students" who live abroad and come to the UK to study, must necessarily pay for their university fees, in the same way your son did if he was a foreign student in the Czech republic.
LemonJam
Our son was not resident in CZ before going to study there, this was pre Brexit.
There were no loans available, as we expected.
Thanks Sago- Then your son was in exactly the same position as none resident foreign nationals that come to the UK to study. They have to pay their fees, just as your son did, and are also not eligible to apply for UK student loans. This Reform plan to change the Brexit agreement for EUSS will not affect that position.
Registering is free, easy, and means you can join the discussion, watch threads and lots more.
Register now »Already registered? Log in with:
Gransnet »Get our top conversations, latest advice, fantastic competitions, and more, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
