UK government might be denying the International students the luxury of bringing their relatives to join them as the government is set to amend the immigration law restricting dependants on student visa. Major update is expected to be announced this month by the UK Home Office.
In addition to the Student Visa restrictions, the Home Office is also proposing the lift in the salary threshold for foreign workers from £26,000 to £33,000 but this call has been rejected by the No. 10.
These proposals are targeted to bringing down the numbers of immigrants in the UK.
According to report, “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”
The restriction on student visa bringing their family members to the UK would affect all masters students and many other post grads.
The ban will however not apply to PHD students, whose courses usually last between 3 and 5 years and are very highly skilled.
Contribution of International Students to the UK Economy
As opined by Dr Gavan Conlon, partner at London Economics, international students put nearly 10 times more into the economy than they take out, boosting both local and national economic wellbeing. “International students also allow universities to undertake world-class teaching and research that would not otherwise be possible.
As reported by TheGuardian, “International students boosted UK economy by £42bn in 2021/2 “
According to reports, economic benefit of international students to the UK rose by a third in three years, making overseas students a significant and critical contributor to economy.
