UK Immigration Crackdown|| Foreign Postgraduate Students Lose Right to Bring Family to UK
The UK government has imposed strict immigration limitations, excluding family members of overseas postgraduate students from joining them in the country, in an effort to address record-high levels of legal migration. The announcement was made just two days before official migration data were expected to be released, which predicted a startling 700,000 migrants this year. This timing emphasizes the government’s commitment to lowering migration levels.
Migration Statistics
The number of visas awarded to the dependents of international students increased significantly in 2018, from 15,038 in 2019 to 135,788 in 2018. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reminded cabinet ministers that the policy change, scheduled to go into effect in January 2024, will have a significant influence on the statistics, citing the need to cut migration levels, according to sources.
Official migration statistics do not include those who stay in the UK for less than a year, including students and their families, so it is yet unclear how this policy change will affect them.
The administration earlier hinted at looking into several measures for lowering migration, but it omitted to say what number was acceptable. Prior to the 2019 election, the Conservative Party promised to impose a limit on net migration of under 100,000 per year, but it abandoned the vow due to repeated failures to accomplish so.
New Immigration Laws
The new immigration laws prohibit partners and kids of postgraduate students enrolled in non-research programs from applying to live in the UK while they are studying there.
The number of dependent visas issued has been continuously rising, especially since the EEA students’ study visa restrictions were implemented following Brexit. After the regulations were changed in 2019 to allow international students to stay in the UK for up to two years after graduation to look for employment, the numbers kept rising.
The record increase in dependents receiving visas, according to Home Secretary Suella Braverman, served as the impetus for limiting this route and lowering migration levels. She stressed in a parliamentary statement that the new policies aim to curb migration while protecting the economic advantages that foreign students bring to the UK.
Restrictions To Postgraduate Students
Regarding expanding the restrictions to all postgraduate students, including those enrolled in research programs, there were conflicting views within the government. Some politicians, like Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, asserted that participants in research programs stay longer and make more economic contributions.
These policy adjustments reflect the UK’s efforts to control immigration while taking into account the financial benefits of having international students. The administration is attempting to find a balance between luring talent and managing the nation’s overall influx of immigrants as it navigates this precarious balancing act.
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