New data has revealed the British taxpayer could be on the hook for billions of pounds.
Nearly £4billion in loans and grants was issued (Image: Getty)
Nearly one in five student loans have been handed to foreigners as fears grow the British taxpayer is now on the hook for billions. Research has found that nearly £4 billion in student loans and maintenance grants has been received by foreign students in the past twelve months.
Students from the EU received the majority of that funding, with data showing foreign students are around 25 per cent less likely to repay loans. It would mean that the British taxpayer could be expected to pick up the tab for between £1.2 and £2.2 billion in unpaid fees each year.
Student finance is normally restricted for international students, but under the terms of a post-Brexit deal, EU students or their relatives are exempt.
Around one in every twenty of new first-time student loans made to international students are received by Romanian nationals, fuelling government concerns of fraud.
Under the terms of the post-Brexit agreement with Brussels people with settled status are entitled to claim student financial support.
In the last year 36,000 people have successfully applied settled status, alongside 30,000 family members of those who already have it.
Data from the Student Loan Company shows that 239,000 foreign citizens have received loans, of which 195,000 have settled status under this scheme.
Over the last decade the proportion of student loans handed to students not from the UK has jumped from 10.2 per cent to 19.3 per cent.
Shadow Education Secretary, Laura Trott MP said: “British taxpayers shouldn’t have to foot the bill for billions of pounds in loans to foreign students who may never pay them back.
“It’s not fair or sustainable. Labour needs to get a grip on the situation.”
Neil O’Brien, a Conservative MP, told the Daily Express there were “clear signs of abuse in the system” due to the amount of funding going to family members of those with settled status.
Mr O’Brien said that the figures around the number of Romanians receiving funding was “mad” people would be “stunned that a fifth of all student loans are now going to people who are not British”.
A spokesman for the Department for Education said: “We have strict eligibility requirements for student loans – nobody who lives outside of the UK can apply for or receive a loan.
“Anyone leaving the UK must continue to repay what they owe.”