The United Kingdom is set to announce restrictions that will prevent international students, including Nigerians, from bringing their families to study in the country. The new rules will be revealed this week.
Proposed restrictions could ban Master’s students and some postgraduates from bringing families, but not PhD students because their courses are highly skilled and typically last 3-5 years. The move is due to reports of net migration into the United Kingdom hitting one million. Tories are urging British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to take action.
The United Kingdom sees a sharp rise in people entering as family members of students on visas. Over 135,788 entered in the past year, nine times the 2019 figure. Over 60,000 Nigerian students brought their relatives to the United Kingdom, and restrictions on Nigerian migrants have been discussed since October 2022.
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The UK Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, considers tightening rules for dependents after discrepancies were found in immigration figures related to foreign students. Nigerian nationals accounted for 40% of dependents despite only making up 7% of all foreign students in the 12 months leading up to June 2022.
Indian students brought 24,916 dependents out of 93,049 visas issued, compared to 401 dependents for Chinese students out of 114,837 visas issued.
The Home Office reported a 686% increase in Nigerian nationals receiving sponsored study grants, reaching a record high of 65,929. This spike is attributed to pandemic recovery and pre-pandemic growth.
