Under proposals from immigration secretary Suella Braverman, students would only be allowed to bring family members to the UK if they were enrolled in postgraduate courses currently described as research projects.
Braverman shared with her Tuesday’s report Several proposals include tougher measures for foreign students who bring family members to live with them.
Braverman wrote that the immigration figures show “an unexpected increase in the number of family members coming to the UK with international students”. According to him, about 136,000 visas were issued to family members of sponsored students in 2022. “This is an eightfold increase from 16,000 in 2019,” he added.
Other measures he discussed included removing student and dependent support obligations, improving enforcement measures and removing the ability for students to “move from the student track to the work track before studying”.
According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, there were 679,970 international students in England in 2021-2022. Of these students, 120 140 are from the European Union.
“We are Deeply disappointed When the move comes into effect, it removes the right for students to bring family members on postgraduate courses,” said Anne Marie Graham, executive director of the UK Council for International Student Affairs.
“This decision comes at a time when the UK is a leading destination for students from around the world and reaffirms its commitment to welcoming international students to the UK,” he added.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the changes, which will come into effect for students coming to the UK in January 2024, would make a “significant difference to the numbers” by helping to reduce migration, the BBC reported.
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