United Kingdom to end migration of foreign students' families

Robert Besser
27 May 2023, 04:20 GMT+10

As part of PM Rishi Sunak's measures to bring down annual net migration, international students will be prevented from bringing family members into the country
The interior ministry said the new measures will help reduce migration "substantially" and stop people from using student visas as a backdoor route to find work in Britain
Current rules allow postgraduate students studying courses lasting nine months or longer to bring partners and children to Britain

LONDON, England: As part of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's measures to bring down annual net migration, which reached a record last year, international students will be prevented from bringing family members into the country.

The interior ministry said the new measures, which target post-graduate students except those in research programs, will help reduce migration "substantially" and stop people from using student visas as a backdoor route to find work in Britain.

"We have seen an unprecedented rise in the number of student dependents being brought into the country with visas," interior minister Suella Braverman said in a statement.

"This is the fair thing to do, to allow us to better protect our public services, while supporting the economy by allowing the students who contribute the most to keep coming here."

Current rules allow postgraduate students studying courses lasting nine months or longer to bring partners and children to Britain, but the government said the number of dependents had jumped eightfold since 2019, to 136,000 people last year.

Britain will also remove the ability for international students to switch out of the student visa into work visas before their studies have been completed, the interior ministry said.

Student visas accounted for the largest proportion of migration to the UK, with 486,000 issued last year, it added.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Shanghai Sun.

More Information

25 ℃

Mostly Cloudy in Shanghai/Hongqiao

International

Section

Five receive death sentence for allegedly killing six police officers two years ago

YANGON, Myanmar - A regime court sentenced to death five people detained for their alleged involvement in a deadly August ...

Connecticut governor to sign strict gun measure

HARTFORD, Connecticut: Following a state Senate debate and vote to approve Connecticut's most comprehensive gun legislation since the laws put ...

160-year-old Mass. church called 'total loss" after lightning strike

SPENCER, Massachusetts: Spencer, Massachusetts Fire Chief Robert Parsons has said that a June 2 fire that burned down a 160-year-old ...

Russia says journalists from 'unfriendly' country cannot cover forum

MOSCOW, Russia: Journalists from countries that are "unfriendly" to Russia will be banned from covering this year's St. Petersburg International ...

Experts teach California owners how to burn fields to stop wildfires

SAN FRANCISCO, California: Landowners in California participated this week in a class organized by the El Dorado Amador Prescribed Burn ...

Palestinian boy, 2, dies in hospital after being shot by Israeli army snipers

RAMALLAH, Wet Bank - A two-and-a-half-year-old Palestinian boy shot in the head by Israeli troops has died in hospitalThe boy, ...

Asia Business

Section