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By Chinelo Obogo
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, has said that his administration has begun implementation of the ban on overseas dependent visa.
The start date for this policy was earlier announced by the British government to commence January 2024, whereby Nigerians and other foreign nationals on study visa to the UK will no longer be able to bring in family members.
But in a post made on Monday on X, formerly, twitter, Sunak said the policy will commence immediately. He said: “Immigration is too high. Today we’re taking radical action to bring it down. These steps will make sure that immigration always benefits the UK: Banning overseas students from bringing their families to the UK unless they are on postgraduate research degrees.
“Stopping immigration undercutting British workers and scrapping the 20% going rate salary discounts offered for shortage occupations.”
Earlier in June, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, explained why the UK government banned international students from bringing family members with them.
Montgomery said the decision is to avoid pressure on the country’s housing infrastructure and control inflow of migrants.
“Many more students are trying to bring their dependents with them. But it’s not always possible to find housing and services to meet all the needs of all our existing student population. We’ll have to manage our migration in and out of the UK,” Montgomery revealed.
The UK Home Office had earlier announced that international students, including Nigerians, would be stopped from switching from the student visa to work visa until their studies have been completed.
