The United Kingdom has announced that foreign students cannot bring family members into the country. 

Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary made the ban known as part of the mechanism to reduce net migration. 

The Home Secretary said all foreign students – apart from those on postgraduate research programmes – will be prevented from bringing their spouses, children or parents from January 2024.

The UK permits dependents to accompany their spouses or parent(s) who have a valid student visa.

Braverman had said there had been an “unexpected” spike in the number of dependents – saying the economic benefits brought by students could “not be at the expense” of the Tory promise to cut immigration.

According to Sky News, “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 ban will affect all master’s students and some other post-graduates, but it will not apply to PhD students who are highly skilled and whose courses last between 3 to 5 years.

If implemented, the crackdown will affect many Nigerian students hoping to pursue their postgraduate studies in the UK, as they accounted for the highest increase in the number of dependents accompanying persons with study visas in 2022.