UK Commences Policy Banning Nigerians, Others From Bringing Dependants

The United Kingdom Home Office has announced the commencement of the implementation of its policy banning Nigerian students and other overseas students from bringing in dependants via the study visa route.

This was made known on Monday in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The Home Office stated that only those on postgraduate research or government-sponsored scholarship students will be exempted from the development.

“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.

The UK had, on May 2023, created a law banning Nigerian students and others studying in the UK from bringing family as dependents except under specific circumstances.

This is as the UK government aims to bring down immigration into the country, which stands at about one million.

Under the new rule, the UK will remove the permission for international 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.

There will also be a review of the maintenance requirement for students and dependents and a crackdown on ‘unscrupulous’ education agents who use inappropriate applications to sell immigration, not education.