International student
International students or exchange students, also known as foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their secondary or tertiary education in a country other than their own.
In 2023, there were over 7.3 million international students, an increase of six percent from the prior year. The most popular destinations were in the Anglosphere. Four countries in particular received 43.82 percent of international students: the United States (with 1,177,766 international students), Canada (789,790 students), United Kingdom (732,285 students) and Australia (499,371 students).[1][2]
National definitions
[edit]Definitions of "foreign student" and "international student" vary from country to country.[3] In the US, international students are "[i]ndividuals studying in the United States on a non-immigrant, temporary visa that allows for academic study at the post-secondary level."[4] Most international students in the US hold an F1 Visa.[5] In Europe, students from countries who are a part of the European Union can take part in a student exchange program called the Erasmus Programme.[6] The program allows for students from the EU to study in other countries under a government agreement.
Canada defines international students as "non-Canadian students who do not have 'permanent resident' status and have had to obtain the authorization of the Canadian government to enter Canada with the intention of pursuing an education."[7] The study permit identifies the level of study and the length of time the individual may study in Canada. Unless it takes more than six months, international students do not need a study permit if they will finish the course within the period of stay authorized upon entry.[8] Canada's first International House (I-House), planned to help international students find housing and community, opened in 1959 at the University of British Columbia.[9] In Australia, an international student "is not an Australian citizen,