International students are worth £20bn to the UK economy, says a report from the Higher Education Policy Institute.

The analysis says on top of tuition fees, their spending has become a major factor in supporting local economies.

London alone gains £4.6bn – with Sheffield the biggest beneficiary in proportion to its economy.

The think tank’s director, Nick Hillman, says the figures support calls to remove students from immigration targets.

There are about 230,000 students arriving each year for university courses in the UK – most of them postgraduates, with China the most common country of origin.

“Fewer international students would mean a lot fewer jobs in all areas of the UK, because international students spend money in their universities, in their local economies,” he says.

“It is literally the sandwich shops, the bike shops, the taxi firms; it is the night clubs, it’s the bookshops.

“Without international students, some of the local companies might go bust. Some of the local resident population would lose their jobs,” says Mr Hillman.

The Higher Education Policy Institute, which carried out the study with education company Kaplan, argues that the UK should have a more positive approach to students from overseas – and separate them from the wider debate about immigration.

Source : BBCeducation