International students will be banned from bringing family members to the UK unless they are on postgraduate research courses, under new rules set out by the government.
Suella Braverman, the home secretary, also announced that there would be no changes to the two-year graduate route visa – which some in government had reportedly wanted to scale back.
Regarding the measures on dependants, to come into effect from January 2024, Ms Braverman said the government’s intention is “to work with universities over the course of the next year to design an alternative approach that ensures that the best and the brightest students can bring dependants to our world leading universities, while continuing to reduce net migration. We will bring in this system as soon as possible, after thorough consultation with the sector and key stakeholders.”
The move is part of a raft of changes announced by Ms Braverman in an attempt to reduce migration, ahead of figures this week which are expected to show record numbers of people coming into the country.
