Ministers have included overseas students in the government's net migration count because they are more interested in playing the numbers game than with long-term migration, a leading thinktank has claimed.
The Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) report says the refusal to exclude international students from the government's drive to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands is damaging British education and putting at risk £4bn to £6bn a year in benefits to the UK economy.
The IPPR researchers Matt Cavanagh and Alex Glennie say only the 15% of overseas students who stay on to work permanently in Britain should be counted within the net migration figures, which measure the long-term flow of migrants in and out of Britain.
Home Office ministers have introduced a wide range of curbs on the 400,000 overseas students who come to Britain each year to study as part of their drive to reduce annual net migration from its current level of 240,000 a year to below 100,000 by the time of the 2015 general election.
Ministers have turned down demands from Universities UK and the National Union of Students to exclude overseas students from the long-term net migration figures, arguing they are simply complying with international standards laid down by the International Labour Organisation.
Read More: Ministers 'Playing Immigration Numbers Game' by including students
