More UK Graduates Are Planning to Move Abroad, Survey Finds

More than one in 10 UK university students now plan to move abroad after they graduate, according to a survey reported by BBC News. That is up from 7.8% two years ago. The survey covered 15,000 final-year students.

Jobs are also harder to find. The Institute of Student Employers says competition for UK graduate jobs is at a three-decade high. UK employers receive 140 applications per graduate vacancy on average, up 14% from 2025. Twenty years ago, there were 30 applications per graduate vacancy.

Rachel James, who is 26 and from Surrey, is one person who made the move. She quit her corporate job in London last year and moved to Sydney without a job lined up. She graduated from Loughborough University in 2022 with an English degree. She now works in marketing in Sydney for Fitness First.

Her move came with changes to her pay. Her annual salary fell from £42,000 to £37,000. She pays $AUS 2,000 (£1,000) a month to rent a two-bedroom apartment with a friend in Sydney.

Australia is by far the most popular destination for British adults who move abroad, according to official figures. Under Australia's Working Holiday Maker programme, British passport holders aged 18 to 35 can live in Australia for up to three years. The United States is the second most popular destination for British adults after Australia.

Charlie West, who is 25 and from Cheshire, chose the United States. He moved there in 2024 after completing a master's in medieval studies at Oxford University. He is two years into a six-year funded PhD at Yale's Department of Italian Studies. He is paid $51,000 a year at Yale, about to rise to $52,000. Funded stipends for the PhD in the UK are about £21,000.

Owein Iveson, who is 24 and from Sunderland, is about to graduate from Finland's Aalto University with a master's in design. He lives in Espoo, about 15 minutes on the metro from Helsinki. International graduates in the EU can apply for a permanent residence permit after their degree ends.

The Office for National Statistics said 75,000 more people in the 16 to 34 age bracket left the UK in 2025 than arrived. Around two-thirds of British nationals who emigrate are aged between 16 and 34, according to the Office for National Statistics.