Immigration curbs on families of foreign students

Publication Source

1. UK government bans international students bringing family members with them | Financial Times

2. Foreign students will be barred from bringing dependents to UK in migration curb | Independent

3. Suella Braverman announces ban on families of foreign students | The Times

4. Braverman says student visa curbs will have tangible impact on net migration | Independent

5. Foreign students to be barred from bringing family members to Britain with them | Daily Mail

6. One in six students at English universities taught overseas - watchdog | Independent

Foreign postgraduate students on non-research courses will no longer be able to bring family members to the UK, under new immigration curbs.

The announcement has been made two days before official statistics are expected to show legal migration has hit a record 700,000 this year.

Last year, 135,788 visas were granted to dependants of foreign students, nearly nine times the 2019 figure.

PM Rishi Sunak told ministers the move would help bring migration down.

He told the cabinet that the change, to begin in January 2024, will make a "significant difference to the numbers," according to No 10.

Last week, he said ministers were "considering a range of options" to bring migration down, but refused to say what an acceptable level was.

The Conservatives have previously promised to bring net migration below 100,000 a year, but ditched the target ahead of the 2019 election after repeatedly failing to meet it.