The United Kingdom (UK) has announced that foreign students on non-research programs from January 2024 and beyond will not be able to bring their families through dependent visas during their study in the UK.
According to the UK’s Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, the decision is to address immigration issues.
This would mean families of international Postgraduate students in the UK will no longer be able to apply through the dependent visas to live in the country. However, this excludes those studying on courses designated as research programmes.
135,788 visas were granted to dependants in 2022 which accounted for a rise from 54,486 in 2021, and more than seven times the 19,139 granted in 2020 according to figures published by the BBC.
UK’s legal migration is expected to hit a record 700,000 so far this year. As a result, the country has been taking measures to bring down migration to curb on overpopulation.
