Until the end of September 2021, the UK issued 428,428 sponsored study Visas to international students and their dependants – the highest total ever, surpassing the record previously set in 2010.
143% (252,327) more than the ending September 2020 and 55% (152,077) higher than the pre-COVID-19, this is the highest total ever, surpassing the record previously set in 2010.
From the graph above, it can be seen that the number of student Visas issued was relatively stable from 2012 to 2017, increased significantly in 2018 and 2019, and then declined sharply due to COVID-19, but recover strongly in 2021.
And China was the most granted sponsored study Visas country in the ending September 2021, with 135,000 Visas granted, an increase of 13% compared with the year ending September 2019. This accounted for 32% of the total sponsored study Visas granted in 2021.
This means that in 3 international students who study in the UK, there is 1 Chinese.
Top 5 nationalities1 granted Sponsored study visas, year ending September 2019, September 2020, and September 2021.
This chart shows that China is still the largest country of UK’s international student origin countries. The Chinese student market is still the most important market for the PBSA companies.
So how should PBSA grasp the Chinese market? For the Chinese market, Weibo and WeChat are the most basic media platforms. Through Weibo and WeChat’s blog posting, followers maintenance, comment reply, super-topic building, topic operation, etc., students can get the question answers from the PBSA companies in time, thereby speeding up the entire booking process.
In addition to Weibo and WeChat, Douyin (Tiktok) and Xiaohongshu (Red) are the highest traffic and most effective social media platforms in the Chinese market. If you are not familiar with the relevant social media platform, Rollzoom is offering a FREE 30-minute video consultation with experienced China Market Business Advisors for PBSAs in the UK. This is an opportunity to discuss business issues and seek advice on topics such as setting up in China, identifying business partners, communicating effectively with students, and as well as the support and services available to help you develop your business in China in a cost-effective way.
