Our year in review: advocating for a positive experience for all international students
June 19, 2025
Today, we share UKCISA’s Annual Review, detailing our impact and key areas of work from April 2024 to March 2025.
The UK is unique in having an organisation like the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) to represent the interests of international students. Our work's impact on students and their advisers continues to make a difference because the interests of international students are at the heart of our mission.
In a general election year, when immigration was high on the political agenda, UKCISA’s work to advise students and members became even more significant. Despite many challenges across the education sector in 2024-25 our member communities, volunteers and international students came together to share insights to inform our advocacy and shape policies, disseminate good practice, and celebrate international students' contributions.
In the past year we:
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successfully advocated for the Graduate route during the Migration Advisory Committee Review,
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held 34 training sessions for 788 attendees covering our specialist areas of immigration advice and compliance, fee assessments, student experience, and staff skills, and grounded in the principles of the #WeAreInternational Student Charter,
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shared our trusted information and guidance on 4,532 calls, on our website with over 2.7 million views, and launched our brand new website with over 500 pages,
and much more. Download the report here to read about all our work.
UKCISA is an independent charity and membership organisation. Our membership in 2024-25 comprised 408 educational institutions, including all public universities in the UK, a number of public and private colleges, schools, students' unions, and other specialised organisations. We have a dedicated staff team of 20 people, and we work with five expert freelancers. We are governed by 15 trustees, guided by a network of over 40 #WeAreInternational Student Ambassadors from around the world, and advised by 20 volunteers on our advisory committees.
Thank you to everyone who has been a part of UKCISA this year, and for all the work you do on behalf of international students choosing the UK. Together, we will continue to work towards UKCISA’s vision and mission to ensure that every international student who comes to the UK has a positive experience.
