The UK's Net Migration Figures Are Nothing To Worry About - Philip Salter writes for Forbes

Director of TEN, Philip Salter, writes on the findings of their latest report, Made in the UK: Unlocking the Door to International Entrepreneurs, in Forbes: 

The UK’s net migration figures have come out. Plenty of people are upset because it has been calculated that on net we have 260,000 immigrants, up from 182,000 in the previous 12 months.

Prime Minister David Cameron had promised to keep net migration down to tens of thousands. Short of forcible emigration, the target was always impossible – partly because of our open borders with the EU, but also because students are included in the net migration figures. In fact, international students are the largest group of migrants from outside the EU counted in the government’s net migration figures, representing around a third of all people coming into Britain.

Students should be taken out of the net migration figures. Lord Bilimoria CBE writes as much in the foreword of a new report released today, Made in the UK: Unlocking the Door to International Graduates. Our report, which we undertook with the National Union of Students, considers the position of international students – that is, students from outside the European Union – who want to start a business in the UK.

Read the full article here.

The survey found that the UK is losing its talented international students with entrepreneurial ambitions to other countries. Although nearly half, 42%, of international students intend to start up their own business following graduation, only 33% of these students, or 14% of the total, want to do so in the UK.