BuzzFeed News can reveal that Tory ministers are now looking to withdraw home fee status for EU students starting courses in England beyond 2021, in changes that are likely to have a significant impact on student numbers, universities’ finances, and the fees charged to future UK students studying at universities in Europe. The proposals will also apply to access to further-education courses and apprenticeships. Irish students will be exempt from the changes and will continue to have home fee status. The Department for Education (DfE) said the government would “provide sufficient notice for prospective EU students on fee arrangements”. But Labour’s shadow education secretary, Angela Rayner, told BuzzFeed News that the Tories had “refused to recognise the vital contribution made by international students” and were “failing to support our world-leading universities”. Ministers at the DfE and officials in Downing Street believe that the taxpayer subsidy currently given to EU students is no longer justified after Brexit. While the UK is a member of the EU and maintains freedom of movement, it makes sense to afford EU students home fee status because they are likely to stay in the UK, pay taxes, and contribute to the economy after they have finished their studies, ministers have argued. But they say that when the UK leaves the EU, either with or without a deal, EU students will be subject to new immigration rules, meaning they are less likely to stay and work in the UK, and less likely to repay their student loans. This means that there is no longer a case for offering home fee status and financial support, ministers say. There are currently 135,000 EU students studying in the UK, and universities fear that charging future EU students higher fees will turn them away from applying for courses here. Tuition fees for international students vary, with undergraduates paying between £10,000 and £38,000 per year. Data collected from Russell Group universities found that there had already been a 3% decrease in the number of EU students enrolling in courses in the academic year 2018–19. There was a 9% decrease in the number of EU postgraduate research students. There are also around 15,000 UK students studying at universities across the EU, and the move means that Britons will likely have to pay more for courses in Europe in the future. The timing is also likely to raise tensions with Brussels at a key stage of the UK's withdrawal from the EU.
Students from the EU could be denied the right to pay the same university fees as those paid by English students in plans put forward by the UK government. The education secretary, Damian Hinds, has proposed scrapping home fee status and financial support for EU students from 2021, regardless of the outcome of Brexit negotiations. The plans could also extend to further education courses and apprenticeships. Cabinet members are thought likely to oppose the plan.