Nigerians Worry as UK Changes Student Visa Policy to Cut Net Migration

By Adedapo Adesanya

New government restrictions to student visa routes that will substantially cut net migration by restricting the ability for international students to take family members to the United Kingdom have raised worries among Nigerians.

Under the new proposals made on Tuesday, only students on postgraduate courses designated as research programmes can bring dependants to the UK while they study.

The UK Office of National Statistics (ONS) estimated that net migration was over 500,000 from June 2021 to June 2022.

Nigerians have always sought the UK as a prime destination, and many use the switch role, the UK claims to have seen an unprecedented rise in the number of student dependents being brought into the country with visas.

Although partly attributed to the rise in temporary factors, such as the UK’s Ukraine and Hong Kong schemes, last year almost half a million student visas were issued while the number of dependants of overseas students has increased by 750 per cent since 2019, to 136,000 people.

“Last year, 59,053 Nigerian students brought over 60,923 relatives,” the report noted.

The UK government on Tuesday announced the measures that will prevent students from switching “out of the student route into work routes” before their studies have been completed.

There will also be “improved and more enforcement activity” and a clamp down on “unscrupulous agents” using education as a cover for immigration, according to a government statement.

The UK Home Secretary, Ms Suella Braverman, said in a written statement to the UK parliament that overseas students played an important part in supporting the UK economy but added that it should not come at the cost of the government’s “commitment to the public to lower overall migration and ensure that migration to the UK is highly skilled and therefore provides the most benefit”.

Ms Braverman said the proposals struck the “right balance” and would likely see net migration “fall to pre-pandemic levels in the medium term”.

The new reforms will come into effect for students starting in January next year.

The UK government said it would, however, work with the higher education sector to explore alternative options to ensure the brightest and best students can continue to bring dependents when they study at the UK’s world-leading universities.

Following the UK leaving the European Union, the Tory-led government introduced a points-based immigration system, giving the government full control of the country’s borders.

This was designed to flex to the needs of the economy and labour market and ensure the country has the skills and talent needed by UK businesses and the National Health Service (NHS).