The Home Office of the United Kingdom has officially announced the implementation of a policy that prohibits Nigerian students and other international students from bringing their dependents through the study visa route.
This decision, which was made public on X (formerly Twitter), emphasizes that only postgraduate research or government-sponsored scholarship students will be exempted from this newly imposed restriction.
The Home Office has expressed its strong dedication to significantly reducing migration, stating that as of today, new overseas students will no longer have the option to bring their family members to the UK. However, it is important to note that postgraduate research or government-funded scholarship students will be an exception to this rule.
According to a report by The Tribune Online, in May 2023, the United Kingdom implemented a legislation to restrict Nigerian students and other international students studying in the UK from bringing their families as dependents, unless certain conditions are met. This measure is part of the UK government’s efforts to reduce immigration, which currently stands at approximately one million individuals.
As per the new regulation, international students will no longer be allowed to switch from the student route to work routes before completing their studies, in order to prevent any potential abuse of the visa system.
According to Sky News, there will be an examination of the maintenance requirement for students and their dependents, as well as a crackdown on education agents who exploit inappropriate applications to sell immigration rather than education.
The UK’s Home Office official site states that the new government restrictions on student visa routes will significantly reduce net migration by limiting the ability of international students to bring family members, except for post-graduate research routes, and by prohibiting individuals from using a student visa as a means to work in the UK.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that net migration exceeded 500,000 from June 2021 to June 2022. While temporary factors like the Ukraine and Hong Kong schemes contributed to this increase, nearly half a million student visas were issued last year, and the number of dependents of overseas students has risen by 750% since 2019, reaching 136,000 individuals.
The Home Office emphasizes that this new rule does not compromise the government’s commitment to reducing overall migration and ensuring that migration to the UK is highly skilled and beneficial. The proposal aims to enable the government to fulfill its International Education Strategy commitments while actively contributing to reducing net migration to sustainable levels. The government has also clarified that the terms of the graduate route will remain unchanged.
