The United Kingdom announced on Tuesday that foreign students will not be allowed to bring their families – spouses, children and parents to the country.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the restrictions will take place from January 2024.
She also said the ban is only for foreign undergraduate and postgraduate students on non-research courses.
The UK government gave reasons for this new restriction policy which are:
1. Rishi Sunak’s move to cut down migration
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has planned that one of the ways to revive the British economy is to cut down on migration. He, then, used this as a mechanism to cut down on immigrants moving to the UK.
2. Nigeria has the highest number of African students studying in UK
According to a UK education data group, Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), Nigeria is the third highest country with students studying in the UK after China and India. This also makes it the first in Africa.
3. Large number of foreigners relocating to UK are non-EU
The UK government is worried that the rise in migration has largely been driven by people coming to the UK from outside the EU – including 170,000. Sunak’s government said refugees and African and Asian migrants are resettling in the country.
4. To reduce number of Nigerians, others taking over British economy
The UK government is engaging in this cutting of migration to reduce the number of immigrants taking key sectors of its economy. Earlier this week, Braverman called for lower immigration and suggested more British people should be trained to do jobs commonly done by overseas workers, such as lorry driving and fruit picking.
