Universities around the world suddenly found themselves with an unexpected window of opportunity to fill their halls with foreign students, a source of cultural and educational wealth and undoubtedly income for many sectors. What happened? The main powers in student reception have said enough, they don’t want so many immigrants. The arrival of Donald Trump has complicated visas in the United States. In neighboring Canada and Australia, which could benefit, their governments are putting up barriers, much to the chagrin of their campuses. EL PAÍS reconstructs how the puzzle is changing in a conversation with five senior academic officials who participated in the meeting Reinventing higher educationorganized in London by IE University and Imperial College, and to which this newspaper was invited.
In Europe things aren’t much better. Brussels has proposed the Youth Mobility Scheme to London in 2024 (with limited permission to work or study) but for now Keir Starmer’s government is resisting, fearful of the populist right. Post-Brexit community members have seen how university fees have become more expensive for them, they have lost scholarships and have to apply for a visa. As a result, students opted for the Netherlands, which has nine universities among the world’s top 200 in the Shanghai ranking. Their numbers grew so much that campuses announced in 2022 that there was no housing for that many people. The outgoing government attempted to close two-thirds of English-taught groups to prioritize the language, but universities refused.
“Visa barriers are a huge problem for the world, but also a great opportunity for countries with a vision for the future,” reasons American Bel Nelson, founder of the disruptive Minerva University, with students rotating around the world. “It is absurd that college-educated individuals are considered an immigration ‘problem’, when in reality they are the solution to immigration for any country. But more and more countries are adopting this idea.” Minerva just opened an art university in South Korea.
“Immigration has been the greatest advantage the United States has had in the last 200 years. And if you actually eliminate that talent flow, they’ll go somewhere else,” Nelson argues. Last August, college student arrivals from abroad to the United States fell nearly 20% compared to 2024, the largest decline recorded since the pandemic. There is a delay in the processing of visas and the scenes of the raids in search of illegal immigrants are overlooked – which would not be the case – and the punishment of Harvard with the suspension for six months, extendable, of the granting of visas to foreigners who aspire to enter Harvard. This measure was paralyzed by a judge.
“The same student who was between Europe and the United States tended towards Europe, but it is something residual,” minimizes Lucas Grosman, rector of the University of San Andrés in Argentina. Although it has had an impact on its institution, the fact that “the US National Institute of Health, which funded many programs primarily related to health, no longer does so.” And he adds: “Some researchers are looking for alternative sources of funding. Many are looking a lot at Europe. In the case of Argentina, added to this is the fact that support from local funding bodies has decreased.” President Javier Milei’s chainsaw.
Canada does not take advantage of this context. On the contrary. “In Canada we are faced with temporary immigration restrictions and the imposition of maximum immigration quotas. Despite the unique opportunity we have to attract students who no longer want to go to the United States or who want to take advantage of the different Canadian environment, we have suffered significant losses in enrollment,” despairs Daniel Jutras, rector of the University of Montreal. “This year we have 25% less enrollment from international students. There are universities that have up to 40% less. It’s really a shame.” But he adds: “What this produces is another type of selection: the students who come to us are excellent.” In addition to visas, the hours foreigners can work while studying have been cut by half.
There is other data predicting that the situation in Canada will worsen. Last September, the Ministry of Immigration announced that it had authorized the entry of 36,417 university students in the first half of 2025, 70% less than in 2024, according to the Efe agency. “On the other hand, as regards professors and young researchers, investments are made to attract talent,” continues Jutras. “In Montreal we have reserved 13 million Canadian dollars (8.03 million euros) and we hope to reach 25 million (15.4) in the long term to attract people who are in the United States or other countries and who may now change their plans. In particular, postdoctoral students.”
The Spanish university has always lagged behind in internationalisation, but in the last eight years it has doubled the number of international students it attracts, even though its weight in enrollments is the fourth lowest in the EU-27, according to a study by the Valencian Institute of Economic Research and the BBVA Foundation, published this week.
“Circumstances favor us,” admits Santiago Íñiguez, rector of IE University, which welcomes students of 160 nationalities between Madrid and Segovia. “On international university students we went from 86% to 90%. There is no university with such a high percentage, except the case of Munich.” Íñiguez believes that there should be “some correction or adjustment mechanism, at European level, to strengthen international mobility, as happens with the erasmusIE has managed, despite the barriers, to strike an agreement with the State of New York that allows IENYC college students to work legally for three years in the Big Apple.
Ghost colleges
Without reaching IE University data, many Australian universities already have more overseas students than local students. And his government has tightened the conditions for obtaining student visas, which has sparked revolt from the country’s prestigious universities. But at the same time the Executive reproaches some centres, including vocational training ones, for providing teaching of dubious quality, and for serving only as an entry point into the country for immigrants looking for work. They are known as ghost college (ghost college) and students rarely go to class.
In this scenario, neighboring New Zealand is preparing to welcome more and more foreign students, especially from China and India. The intention is to double revenues, reaching 3,563 million euros in 2034.
And in the meantime, Chinese universities, which do not stop climbing positions in the famous Shanghai ranking – created to send its students to the best campuses in the world – look to South America, where many of their companies are concentrated. “The United States and China need each other economically. We cannot destroy each other; we must coexist,” says Zheng Xinye, vice president of Renmin University in Beijing, a powerhouse in public administration. “So in those areas that are not too controversial or sensitive, we continue to have exchanges of students and staff.”
Santiago Íñiguez, of IE, in any case, does not believe that these anti-immigration policies will be maintained over time: “These temporary mechanisms in other countries will diminish again. University talent generates value, creates companies. Silicon Valley is the result of all the immigration of talent.” Requests from around the world to work at your university have grown by 34% this year. Proof that something is moving.
