UK universities may be forced to rethink participation in the European Union’s Erasmus+ exchange scheme if they end up being charged the international student levy on all enrolments, a leading political scientist has warned.
Anand Menon, a founding director of the European Research Institute at the University of Birmingham, said the issue was an example of the “absurdities” of government policy that institutions are having to deal with.
Ministers are set to impose a £925 per-student tax on international admissions from 2028 and are yet to clarify whether it will apply to those coming to the country on exchange placements.
Several respondents to a recent consultation on the levy raised concerns about its impact on Erasmus but the government is yet to respond to the findings.
Students on Erasmus exchanges do not typically pay fees to host institutions but, given the levy is now a flat per-student charge rather than a percentage, it may still apply.
