What this means for UK immigration and broader trends
This firm has already noted an uptick in migration from the US to the UK more generally, including celebrities and wealthy individuals. US nationals applying for UK citizenship has also increased very significantly, by 26% between 2023 and 2024 (it is expected to be even higher in 2025).
This increase in citizenship applications from US nationals represents a combination of applications for registration as British – exercising a pre-existing right based on the applicant’s British parentage and/or place of birth, and applications for ‘naturalisation’. Naturalisation applications, the most common way in which non-British nationals acquire British citizenship, require a period of residency in the UK, usually after a period of time spent in the UK on a visa.
The increase in university applications from US nationals signifies an impending increase in the numbers who will enter the UK for the first time on student visas. While the increased citizenship applications indicates US citizens making the decision to relocate later in life or to remain permanently in the UK after a period of residency here, the increased university applications from young Americans signifies a broader trend and shows a similar change happening at the other end of the US-UK immigration pipeline.
Why is this happening?
Concerns surrounding the Trump administration are likely to be behind both the increased citizenship applications and the uptick in university admissions from the US. The specific reasons for each differ only slightly.
For older individuals relocating to the UK, there may be concerns surrounding tariffs, or broader disagreement surrounding his social policies. It may be that a long-contemplated move was simply pushed over the edge by Trump’s recent election victory.
For US universities, Trump’s second term has already been eventful. He has withdrawn significant endowments from leading universities such as Harvard and Columbia University, accusing them of antisemitism and promoting diversity, equity and inclusion policies on campus. Trump has also initiated investigations into Harvard, and revoked their ability to issue visas to students, blocking them from enrolling international students (27% of the Harvard student body).
Harvard is challenging the withdrawal of funding and the revocation of their visitor program certification in court.
University education was one of the strongest proxies that determined voting patterns in the 2024 general election, with those holding a four-year degree or more favouring Kamala Harris by 16 percentage points.
The motivations for students and older Americans are both a part of the same picture, as Trump seeks to overhaul the US education system in pursuit of his political vision.
The UK’s universities are also among the best in the world, as well as having highly international student bodies, especially those based in London. The UK currently has 18 of the top 100 universities worldwide, second only to the US. The UK’s language and culture also offers the easiest option for US nationals looking to relocate, and Americans appear to be arriving in both London and other parts of the country. Compared to many leading US colleges, UK universities are also far cheaper and, as discussed further below, there is a streamlined application process for US students to acquire student visas to study in the UK.
Student visas
Student visa applicants in the UK generally require an offer from a ‘licenced student sponsor’ (usually a university), and proof of sufficient finances to pay for the course and to support the applicant in the UK. Applicants must also show their knowledge of the English language, usually via a ‘Secure English Language Test’ pass from a UK government approved provider. US students are automatically exempt from the financial evidence requirement (ST 22.1) and the English language requirement (EL 4.1), meaning they only need to acquire a place at a UK university to receive a student visa.
It is important that student visas do not have a five-year ‘route to residency’ in the UK, in the same way as skilled worker visas or most family visas, where applicants seek to work in an employed role or join a British family member in the UK. As a result, students in the UK on a visa are obliged to switch to a different visa type or to leave the country at the end of their visa’s period of ‘leave’ (i.e. permission to be) in the UK.
The UK government reintroduced a graduate visa route in 2021, enabling those who have been in the UK on a student visa two further years of leave to remain in the UK following graduation, or three years if their last qualification was at PhD level. This gives students some additional leeway in which they can remain in the UK to apply and interview for jobs, before being required to leave the UK or to switch to a skilled worker visa or another visa category. Skilled worker visas require that the prospective employer holds a sponsor licence and agrees to sponsor the visa applicant, as well as paying them a minimum salary. Once acquired, a skilled worker visa has a five-year route to permanent residency in the UK.
If a foreign student lives continuously in the UK for ten years, for example by studying a three-year undergraduate degree, followed by a one year master’s degree and a three-year PhD programme, with three years on a graduate visa, they might still obtain permanent UK residence (also known as “Indefinite Leave to Remain” or “ILR”) under the 10 year ‘Long Residence’ route. However, these applications are more common (and lighter in terms of the years of higher education required) where a student has attended secondary school in the UK on a child student visa for a number of years, before attending a UK university.
Finally, students may also be able to acquire a Global Talent visa.
If you are looking to come to the UK, whether because you believe you may have a claim to British citizenship or you wish to study here, we are able to advise and assist you.
