“The one thing stopping more students coming here is recent changes in the visa,” says Mohammed Abdullah Sayyed, 21, from India.

Student visa restrictions took effect in January 2024, meaning postgraduates lost the right to bring dependant family members to the UK and new students were prevented from switching to a work visa before the end of their courses.

There was an 85% drop in the number of sponsored study visas for dependants, from 143,276 in 2023 to 21,978 in 2024.

Mohammed says another factor is international students pay more than UK ones.

Coventry University says tuition fees can vary depending on the course – but as of September 2024, most courses cost approximately £16,800 – £20,050 per year for international students.

That’s compared to £9,250 for domestic students, which will rise to £9,535 in September.