New data from findamasters.com and findaphd.com has revealed that searches for MRes courses accounted for 49% of all enquiries by international students looking at the UK in Jan-Feb 2025, up from 23% the year before.
International demand for MRes courses now outstrips all other UK Masters study modes on these particular Keystone sites, including taught postgraduate qualifications such as MSc, MA and MBA.
Tough government action in 2024 means that most international students can now no longer bring family members to the UK in connection with their study visa.
Only students enrolled in postgraduate research programs like PhDs are eligible to bring family, as the previous government moved to reduce net migration by limiting dependant visas for most student visa holders.
However, a potential loophole in the rules has been identified by universities and agents alike – and is growing in demand.
MRes courses are designed as preparatory study for students wishing to progress onto to take a PhD. Unlike MSc and MA courses, two thirds of the course are weighted to research work, with one part classed as taught study.
This means the courses are classified as postgraduate research programmes and are eligible for dependant visas, despite having a taught element. Students can often secure a place without acceptance of a research proposal, unlike a PhD.
“We’ve seen increased interest in MRes and other research masters since the dependant’s ban, but this surge is much more recent, confirming that there’s certainly an increase in demand across the millions of searches taking place on Keystone platforms” explained Mark Bennett, director of insight at Keystone Education Group.
“The question is what’s driving this and, of course, what it might lead to in terms of applications and enrolments,” he added. “The important thing to do – which I’m sure universities will – is to ensure prospective students are getting information and guidance from the right places and making the right study choices for the right reasons.”
Agents and immigration counsellors have been quick to promote MRes courses as an alternative study route for prospective students wishing to bring dependants with them.
The important thing to do… is to ensure prospective students are getting information and guidance from the right places and making the right study choices for the right reasons
Mark Bennett, Keystone Education Group
“Are you married with children and want to study in the UK?; You can bring your family, your children can have a free British education” explained one counsellor from UK Bright Education during one of their livestreams, highlighting “ways to bring your family” as an international student taking an MRes course.
Other agents are promoting MRes courses for spring intake, including for the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) starting in May 2025. Ask Immigration is promoting the course as an option where “spouses can also apply”.
There is no suggestion that UCLan is actively promoting its MRes courses for these purposes.
Despite the rise in demand, there is no evidence universities are actively creating more MRes courses specifically to meet the demand for dependant visas.
According to Studyportals data for 2024, there was a tail off in the MRes options on offer, with a small increase year on year in 2024 of 2.8%.
Mark Ovens, business unit director for Studyportals, explained that “even where universities may have identified an opportunity [to attract students with MRes courses], it often takes longer than a recruitment team would like for the faculties to get the course approved internally and ready for promoting.
“It will be telling to see where that number goes in the next 12 months.”
The UK government plans to publish an immigration whitepaper imminently, where it will outline the government’s strategy to reduce both legal and illegal migration.
Speaking at The PIE Live Europe, Brian Bell, chair of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), warned university delegates that “the home secretary is not stupid”.
He explained that “if the government starts to see a surge [in dependant visa applications linked to MRes applications] the risk you run is that they’ll ban all dependants, including PhD students”.
