The British government has announced strict measures to limit the entry of Nigerian and international students’ dependents into the United Kingdom. Home Secretary James Cleverly stated that these actions are part of the government’s broader plan to reduce migration......Read The Full Article>>.....Read The Full Article>>
“We are not done yet in our mission to reduce migration,” Cleverly said. “In the coming months, we will continue to demonstrate our progress towards delivering the control the public demands.”
The government’s statement emphasized that the Home Secretary’s actions to reform the immigration system and reduce “unsustainable and unfair” migration levels are bearing fruit.
“Since January, the number of dependents accompanying students to the UK has plummeted by nearly 80%, with over 26,000 fewer student visa applications received between January and March 2024 compared to the same period in 2023,” the statement said.
The new student visa restrictions, which took effect in January, prohibit most international students beginning their studies this year from bringing family members. Additionally, students can no longer switch their visas before completing their courses, preventing them from using the route as a “backdoor to work in the UK.” The government also pledged to crack down on institutions that “undermine the UK’s reputation by selling immigration not education.”
Cleverly criticized the “ever-spiraling numbers” of dependents, which he said were “eroding the British people’s confidence in our immigration system, burdening public services, and suppressing wages.”
The Home Secretary’s measures to reduce legal migration are expected to prevent approximately 300,000 people who arrived in the UK last year from doing so in the future. The package also includes:
* Commissioning a rapid review of the Graduate route for international students to prevent abuse and protect UK higher education
* Replacing the Shortage Occupation List with a new Immigration Salary List, ensuring that employers cannot pay migrants less than UK workers in shortage occupations
* Raising the minimum income requirement for the family visa to the level of the Skilled Worker visa, currently £38,700.
