Fifty per cent, or some 560,000, of those admitted to the UK under the student visa system since 2022 remained in the country after their original visa expired. Meanwhile, close to one-third of asylum claims now come from those who originally came her on a student visas.

These are the stark findings of a report published this week by the Think Tank Migration Watch UK which exposes what ministers and the influential and well-funded education and international student lobby refuse to admit: that the driver of Britain’s very high net migration is not illegal arrivals in dinghies – not to underplay the seriousness of illegal immigration – but the influx of international students going to struggling and poor-performing universities.

While the political spotlight remains fixed on small boats,

See Full Page