According to reports, the British Government has banned visas allowing foreign students to bring their dependants to the U.K.
Speaking on the restriction, James Cleverly, the UK Home Secretary said on Tuesday that the move is geared towards cutting migration stating that there are more policies to come.
“This does not mark the end of the road in our plan to cut migration, there is more still to come. Over the coming months, we will continue to show the pace of our progress as we deliver the control the public rightly expect.”
Written in an official statement by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government, it was mentioned that a “strong action taken by the Home Secretary to transform the UK’s immigration system and cut unsustainable and unfair levels of migration is delivering.”
“The number of dependants accompanying students to the UK has drastically fallen by almost 80%, with more than 26,000 fewer student visa applications made from January to March 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.”
It stated that measures have been put in place to prevent most international students starting courses this year from bringing family members adding that “students can also no longer switch their visa before completing their course, preventing people from using the route as a backdoor to work in the UK, while clamping down on institutions which undermine the UK’s reputation by selling immigration not education.”
“When I promised to deliver the largest-ever cut in legal migration, I knew we must also work to show the impact of our action as soon as practically possible.
“This data shows a significant fall in numbers on the first of our measures to take effect whilst underlining why necessary action was taken to cut unsustainable numbers of care worker dependants,” Cleverly said.
This decision means the mass influx of people arriving UK will no longer be able to.
a Migration Advisory Committee has also been set up to review the Graduate route for foreign students to prevent abuse, protect the quality and integrity of higher education in the UK and ensure the policies work in favour of the UK.
