- Postgraduate research or government-funded scholarships students will be exempt
The UK government has initiated the enforcement of its policy prohibiting Nigerian and other foreign students in the country from sponsoring family members through the study visa route.
In a recent announcement on X (formerly Twitter), the UK Home Office confirmed that only postgraduate research or government-sponsored scholarship students would be exceptions to this new regulation.
The Home Office announced that “We are fully committed to seeing a decisive cut in migration. From today, new overseas students will no longer be able to bring family members to the UK. Postgraduate research or government-funded scholarships students will be exempt.”
Also, the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, in a post on X on Monday confirmed the ban on foreign students from bringing in dependents to the country.
He wrote, “From today, the majority of foreign university students cannot bring family members to the UK. In 2024, we’re already delivering for the British people.”
In a recent immigration crackdown, the United Kingdom announced the prohibition of most foreign students from inviting their families to Britain.
Despite the Home Office’s push to raise the salary threshold for foreign workers from £26,000 to £33,000 to reduce numbers, the Prime Minister’s Office rejected the proposal.
This decision followed a surge in net migration to 1 million, prompting some Conservative MPs to urge Sunak to address the escalating numbers.
The crackdown will impact master’s students and several other postgraduate students, preventing them from bringing their families to the UK. However, it won’t affect PhD students, typically highly skilled individuals with courses spanning 3 to 5 years.