UK announces strict visa rules for foreign students: No family members allowed

LONDON Jan 3: The UK will now limit the ability of foreign students to bring family members with them, allowing exceptions only for postgraduate research courses and government-funded scholarships. The move is said to be a part of stricter visa rules for international students, including Indians, enrolling at British universities.

The new regulations will be effective from this month itself.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday shared a social media post on the same saying, “From today, the majority of foreign university students cannot bring family members to the UK. In 2024, we’re already delivering for the British people.”

The UK Home Office said the changes, first announced by former home secretary Suella Braverman in May last year, are aimed at clamping down on people using the student visa as a backdoor route to work in the UK and will see an estimated 1,40,000 fewer people come to the UK.

The restrictions specifically target the “unreasonable practice” of overseas students bringing dependants, a phenomenon that has surged by over 930 per cent since 2019, as reported by official figures.

“This government is delivering on its commitment to the British public to cut migration. We have set out a tough plan to rapidly bring numbers down, control our borders and prevent people from manipulating our immigration system, which will come into force throughout this year,” Cleverly said in a statement as quoted by news agency PTI.

The Home Office said the changes to student visas strike the “right balance” to continue to preserve the attractiveness of the UK’s world-leading higher education sector while removing the ability for institutions to undermine the country’s reputation by “selling immigration, not education”.

It said the government will work with universities to design an “alternative approach” for the brightest and the best to bring dependants to the UK’s world-leading universities while continuing to reduce net migration.

The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak-led UK government has committed to bring down levels of migration, both legal and illegal, into the country.