Luigi Capoani and Elisa Maria Restani / Sep 2026
Image: Shutterstock
Brexit changed the conditions under which EU students access at UK universities. The shift became particularly visible in the 2021/22 academic year, when tuition fee and funding rules, as well as immigration requirements, changed for many new EU students. According to HESA data, the number of first-year EU students enrolling at UK universities fell by 53% compared with the previous year. This decline coincided with the introduction of the new access conditions, although it cannot be attributed to a single cause. Brexit therefore provides a useful case for examining how changes in economic and institutional conditions can affect international student mobility.
A Highly International Higher Education System
Before Brexit, studying in the United Kingdom as a student from an EU Member State meant moving within a relatively integrated European area. EU students could generally benefit from home fee status and, in England, access the tuition fee loan system, without being subject to the immigration procedures that now apply to many international students.
From the 2021/22 academic year, these conditions changed for many new EU students. With some specific exceptions, they are no longer eligible for home fee status or support from Student Finance England and, for longer courses, they generally need to obtain a Student visa.
At the same time, the composition of the international student population also changed. In 2021/22, while the number of new EU entrants declined, the number of new students from non-EU countries increased by 32%, according to HESA. This growth continued in 2022/23, with a further 25% increase in new non-EU entrants. The data therefore suggest that the decline in EU students did not coincide with a general fall in international student mobility, but rather with a shift in the geographical composition of international student flows. This trend is also consistent with the UK government’s International Education Strategy, launched in 2019, which aimed to increase international student recruitment.
Funding Higher Education
The changes affecting European students should also be understood in the context of how higher education is funded in the UK. According to Education at a Glance 2025, in 2022 44% of tertiary education funding in the UK came from public sources, compared with an OECD average of 71.9%. In England, high tuition fees also coexist with an extensive system of public student loans: 93% of students in tertiary education benefit from government-guaranteed, income-contingent loans. These figures show that tuition fees, public funding and student support can be combined in different ways.
This context is particularly relevant after Brexit. Since 2021/22, new EU students not covered by the Withdrawal Agreement have no longer been eligible, in England, for home fee status or support from Student Finance England. For many EU students, Brexit altered both the cost of studying in England and the financial support available to cover that cost. A study by Clifton-Sprigg and co-authors estimates that higher tuition fees significantly reduced applications, offers, acceptances and enrolments among EU students, with estimated effects ranging from 48% to 64%. The study does not find comparable effects attributable to the referendum itself or, in isolation, to the introduction of visa requirements. The authors therefore identify higher tuition fees as a major barrier to EU student demand, although other factors may also have played a role.
The Return to Erasmus+
The United Kingdom’s return to Erasmus+ from 2027 adds another element to this picture. On 15 April 2026, the UK and the EU signed the legal text formally enabling the UK to rejoin the programme. According to the European Commission, UK learners, staff and organisations will once again participate under the same conditions as their counterparts in EU Member States and other associated countries. The UK government estimates that more than 100,000 people could benefit in the first year, including students, apprentices, educators and young people.
