The government announced today that overseas students enrolled in master’s programmes taught in the UK will not be allowed to enrol dependent family members.
Only students enrolling in postgraduate courses currently classified as research programmes, including PhD students, would be allowed to bring dependents under new guidelines proposed by home secretary Suella Braverman.
The move is a temporary solution until the government completes a “alternative approach” that would let “the best and brightest students bring dependents to our world-leading universities while continuing to reduce net migration.”
According to Sky News, the changes will apply to students starting school in January 2024.
Although it has been said that students enrolled in elite universities or “high-value” courses will be allowed to bring dependents, there has been debate over how realistically a merit-based system can be put into place.
Due to an increasing trend of recently arrived students quitting their studies to work in the care business, international students are also no longer allowed to switch from a study visa to a work visa before the conclusion of their term.
A examination of “maintenance requirements” for students and dependents as well as a crackdown on “unscrupulous education agents” who provide “immigration not education” are other measures that are suggested. Regarding these policy changes, the government has not yet made any information available.
The graduate pathway, which enables international students to remain in the UK and find employment after graduating, remains unchanged.
“This package strikes the right balance between decisively addressing net migration and preserving the economic benefits that students can bring to the UK,” says the author.
The limitations were put in place ahead of Thursday’s release of the most current net migration figures, which are expected to show a significant increase despite government pledges to reduce migration.
Over 136,000 visas were granted to the families of sponsored students in the fiscal year that ends in December 2022, up from 16,000 in 2019.
In a written statement, Braverman stated that the International Education Strategy “plays an important role in supporting the economy through the economic contribution students can bring to the UK.” “However, this should not come at the expense of our commitment to the public to lower overall immigration and ensure that migration to the UK is highly skilled and thus provides the most benefit.”
In the academic year 2021–2022, international students contributed £41.9 billion to the UK economy, according to a research released this week.
The economic contribution that international students may make to the UK is a significant part of how the International Education Strategy supports the economy, according to a written statement from Braverman. “However, this should not come at the expense of our commitment to the public to lower overall migration and ensure that immigration to the UK is highly skilled and thus provides the most benefit.”
In the academic year 2021–2022, international students made a $41.9 billion economic contribution to the UK, according to a research released this week.
“This package strikes the right balance between acting decisively on net migration and protecting the economic benefits that students can bring to the UK,” Braverman added.
Jamie Arrowsmith, director of Universities UK International, said that the modifications will have a “disproportionate impact on women and students from certain countries.”
He continued by saying that although the revelation “leaves some questions unanswered,” it “brought some clarity for students and universities after many months of rumour and speculation.”
“The number of dependent visas has increased significantly and probably beyond government planning assumptions.”
We realise that, in certain areas, this has led to local issues with family housing and educational access that have an impact on the student experience.
Given this, he claims, “some targeted measures to mitigate this rise may be reasonable, such as looking at eligibility for particular types of courses (such as one-year taught postgraduate programmes) or improving the financial assurances that potential students are required to provide.”