The United Kingdom is set to announce new restrictions that will stop Nigerian students and other nationalities studying in the UK from travelling with their families.
The Sun UK newspaper reports the new development which may see all masters students and many other post graduates banned from bringing family over, will be announced this week.
“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,” a Tory MP told The Sun on Sunday.
However, the ban will not apply to PhD students, whose courses usually last between three and five years who are very highly skilled.
Data obtained from Home Office last year indicate that Nigerians accounted for the highest increase in the number of dependants accompanying persons with study visas for the year ending in June 2022.
“In the year ending June 2022, there were 486,868 Sponsored study visas granted (to both main applicants and their dependants), 71% (202,147) more than 2019,” the report read.
“The number of Sponsored study visas granted in the year ending June 2022, is the highest on record in our time series, with the substantial increase representing both a recovery from lower numbers during the Covid-19 pandemic but also an increase on the pre-pandemic period.
“There were 117,965 grants to Indian nationals in the year ending June 2022, an increase of 80,569 (+215%) compared to 2019. Chinese nationals were the second most common nationality granted Sponsored study visas in the year ending June 2022, with 115,056 visas granted, 4% lower than the number seen in 2019 (119,825).
“In the other top 5 nationalities, Nigerian nationals saw the largest relative increase in Sponsored Study grants compared with 2019, increasing by 57,545 (+686%) to a record high of 65,929, making them the third largest nationality group in the latest year.”
The Daily Mail said Nigeria represented 40 percent of the total number of dependants between June 2021 and June 2022, and “some 34,000 Nigerians were given study visas in the UK, bringing with them a total of 31,898 dependants.”
