HL Deb 22 November 1976 vol 377 c1748WA
Lord ORR-EWING

asked Her Majestys' Government:

How many overseas students have been admitted to the United Kingdom in each of the last 10 years, and what is the average length of stay of those that came in the five years ending in 1970.

Lord HARRIS of GREENWICH

The available information about the number of overseas students admitted to the United Kingdom in each of the years 1966–1975 is shown in the following table. Citizens of Pakistan are recorded as Commonwealth citizens until 31.8.73 and as foreign nationals from 1.9.73.

(Thousands)
Commonwealth Foreign
Citizens Nationals
1996 13.8 not separately recorded
1967 11.0 not separately recorded
1968 13.2 not separately recorded
1969 14.5 not separately recorded
1970 16.6 not separately recorded
1971 18.1 not separately recorded
1972 19.7 not separately recorded
1973 25.2 50.4
1974 29.1 61.8
1975 31.4 70.8

Each individual case is checked to ensure that departure has taken place, but information about the average length of stay of all overseas students could only be obtained from operational records at disproportionate cost.