This article was originally published in the September print edition.
King’s College London (KCL) could lose £22 million a year from a levy on international student fees under government plans to reduce net immigration.
On 12 May, the government issued its immigration white paper, ‘Restoring Control over the Immigration System’, which proposed implementing a 6% levy on international student fees.
The white paper also suggested reducing the post-study work period for graduates from two years to 18 months.
Government estimates show the proposals could reduce the number of international students coming into the UK by 14,000 a year.
In 2024, King’s College London had the fifth highest percentage of international students in the UK at 52%. This figure rose to 54% by February 2025. Consequently, international tuition fees are a key source of income for the university.
According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), non-UK fees represented almost 64% of total fees from higher education courses at King’s in 2023-24, at over £364 million.
In a recent report, the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) think tank calculated that the 6% levy could cost KCL £22 million a year, with only University College London and the University of Manchester paying more.
The report also warned that the levy could leave some university research projects unfunded. In the UK, for each £1 spent on research, only 67p is recovered from grants and contracts, resulting in a £6.2 billion investment gap. International fees are vital in filling this gap, a reliance exacerbated due to the current stall in public spending on research.
However, the levy would not just affect researchers. In order to absorb the costs of the policy, HEPI warns that universities may be forced to spend less on students or raise tuition fees. As a result, the policy runs the risk of worsening the student experience at universities such as KCL.
According to the white paper, the revenues obtained from the levy would be reinvested in the higher education and skills system. However, the details of this measure remain unspecified, along with the final percentage that would be imposed upon universities.
More details are expected in the autumn budget, but King’s remains among the most vulnerable institutions to any policy aimed at reducing international student numbers.
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