According to reports, the UK government is looking into measures to restrict the number of dependents that foreign students are allowed to bring into the country. The proposal is being taken into consideration as a component of a larger strategy to combat "bad migration" and keep the immigration system under control.

Restrictions on Dependents of the International Students

In 2022, there were 135,788 more student visas issued for students who were bringing family members along with them. Family members of Indian and Nigerian students received nearly 100,000 of these grants. 

The recently appointed Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, has made it known that her long-term goal is to cut overall migration to the "tens of thousands," a former government goal that Boris Johnson abandoned. 

According to Jamie Arrowsmith, director of Universities UK International, the group is aware that the growth in the number of dependents may have exceeded planning assumptions, which has raised some concerns for the government and even presented difficulties in some parts of the UK, such as the difficulty in finding suitable family housing.

Nadhim Zahawi, a minister in the Cabinet Office, has admitted that having overseas students on student visas is an excellent thing for universities. Still, he thinks it is wrong for them to bring five or six dependents because the authorities are unsure if they are coming here to study lawfully.

The Home Secretary has also criticised international students, charging that they use the student visa to improperly bring family members to the UK and enrol in "substandard courses in inadequate institutions."

However, the plan to cap the number of dependents that foreign students are allowed to bring to the UK has been strongly opposed. According to experts, deterring students from coming to the UK might directly hurt the economy by severing the market's enormous financial contributions.

How Will it Affect the Economy?

In a research released in 2021 by the Higher Education Policy Institute and Universities, it was determined that spending on public services by overseas students totalled 2.9 billion GBP, with a net economic gain to the UK of 25.9 billion GBP.

Limiting the number of dependents could turn away students who would otherwise opt to study abroad in the UK. This could result in fewer foreign students choosing to pursue their education in the UK, which would have a crucial effect on the economy as a whole as well as the money earned by the higher education industry.

Each family member must demonstrate that they have 845 GBP per month for courses in London or 680 GBP per month (for up to nine months) for classes outside of London in addition to paying the visa fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge upfront. 

These expenses, in addition to the tuition fees that international students must pay to attend universities, mean that a candidate would need to have sizable financial reserves in order to qualify for the student route and move to the UK with "five or six" dependents.

Conclusion

The UK government's proposal to restrict the number of dependents that international students may bring with them has drawn controversy. While the government wants to stop "bad migration," experts are worried that doing so could result in considerable economic losses by preventing foreign students from attending universities in the UK.

FAQS

Why is the UK government making it more challenging to obtain a dependent visa for an international student?

The change, according to the UK government, is intended to lessen migration and improve the country's immigration system.

Does this new regulation apply to all foreign students studying in the UK?

No, only the dependents of foreign students studying in the UK will be affected by the new law. The guidelines for foreign students themselves do not change.