Net immigration to Britain is continuing to fall, following a sharp decline in number of international students.
Net immigration to Britain is continuing to fall, following a sharp decline in number of overseas students coming to the country, official figures have shown.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a net flow of 153,000 migrants arrived in Britain in the 12 months to September, a drop of 10,000 compared to the previous quarterâ„¢s figure of 163,000 and of one third since the same period a year earlier.
Numbers of people coming on family visas were down by 18,000 while numbers of overseas students were down by 56,000.
The big plunge in number of overseas students comes after British ministers introduced new rules on foreign student visa last year.
The rules prevent these students to stay in the country after graduation unless they get a job with a salary above £20,000.
Sarah Mulley, a migration expert at the Institute for Public Policy Research, said the governmentâ„¢s progress on reducing migration to 100,000 by the time of 2012 general election is largely driven by falling numbers of foreign students and will not help the British government in the medium term.
Å“This decline in international student numbers comes at considerable economic cost to the UK at a time when we can ill afford it,” Mulley said.
MOS/HE
This article originally appeared on : Press TV