The United Kingdom through its Home Office has announced the commencement of the implementation of its dependant visa ban which prohibits Nigerian students and other foreigners from bringing family members.
The announcement was made via X by the UK’s Home Office on Monday reiterating that only foreign students in postgraduate research or government-sponsored scholarship could bring their dependants through the study visas.
“We are fully committed to seeing a decisive cut in migration. From today, new overseas students will no longer be able to bring family members to the UK. Postgraduate research or government-funded scholarships students will be exempt,” the Home Office said.
Recall that the Home Office under Suella Braverman, in May 2023, instituted the policy to stop Nigerian students, and others studying in the UK from bringing family as dependents except under specific circumstances.
The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Richard Montgomery speaking on the policy explained that it was formulated to check the influx of immigrants to address the housing problems.
With the new policy, the UK will remove the permission for foreign students to switch out of the student route and into work routes before their studies have been completed to prevent misuse of the visa system.
A report by Sky News said, “There will also be a review of the maintenance requirement for students and dependents and a crackdown on ‘unscrupulous’ education agents who make use of inappropriate applications to sell immigration, not education.”
The Home Office, in a statement on the official site, disclosed that the dependant visa ban policy was to reduce migration.