UK to bar Nigerian students from bringing families over | EduCeleb
EduCeleb
21st May 2023
The UK Government is set to announce new restrictions that will affect Nigerian students and other nationalities who want to study in the country. The restrictions will most likely prevent them from bringing their families over during their studies.
The restrictions are billed to be announced this week by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, following reports that net migration into the UK has soared to 1 million.
According to a Tory member of Parliament who spoke to The Sun UK, the restrictions will see all Masters’ students and many other Postgraduate students prohibited from bringing family members over.
However, the ban will not apply to Ph.D. students, whose courses usually last between 3 and 5 years and are very highly skilled.
The newspaper reported that Tory Members of Parliament had urged Prime Minister Sunak to take control of the net migration situation, which has reached 1 million.
The Sun quoted the MP as saying that “Rishi Sunak is expected to come out fighting on immigration – pointing out they are figures he inherited as they date back to the year ending December 2022 – two months after he became PM.
“There has been an explosion in the number of people coming to Britain piggybacking on their relative’s student visa.
“Students brought 135,788 family members to Britain last year – nine times more than in 2019.
“Last year, 59,053 Nigerian students brought over 60,923 relatives. We have got to get a grip.”
The UK Government has a Student visa policy that allows eligible students to study in the UK for up to 5 years at degree level or above, or up to 2 years below degree level.
The policy also allows students to bring their partner and children as dependants if they meet certain criteria, such as having enough money to support themselves and their family.