The British government is set to introduce stringent immigration measures this week, restricting foreign students, including Nigerians, from bringing their families to the country.
Under the forthcoming measures, the prohibition on family accompaniment will apply to the majority of master’s degree students and many other postgraduate students. This is according to the UK Sun.
Official figures due to be released this Thursday are expected to reveal a substantial increase in net migration to a staggering one million individuals.
However, PhD students whose courses typically span between 3 and 5 years and require a high level of expertise will be exempt from the ban.
In response, a number of concerned Conservative members of parliament have publicly urged Rishi Sunak to address the escalating numbers.
Ministers are working diligently to pre-empt the unfavorable statistics by announcing the immigration clampdown either on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Sunak is expected to robustly defend the government’s stance on immigration, emphasizing that the figures under scrutiny date back to the period ending in December 2022 — just two months after he assumed office as Prime Minister.
The number of individuals entering Britain through the utilisation of their relatives’ student visas has seen a remarkable surge.
Last year alone, 135,788 family members accompanied students to Britain, representing a nine-fold increase compared to 2019 figures. Notably, Nigerian students accounted for a significant portion, with 59,053 individuals bringing over 60,923 relatives.
Source: Foundation For Investigative Journalism
