New restrictions on foreign students bringing family to UK go into effect
New restrictions on foreign students bringing family to UK go into effect: Today marks the implementation of a major component of Rishi Sunak’s strategy to restrict legal migration to the UK; however, he still has to contend with opposition from his backbenches in order to minimise both legal and illegal migration in advance of this year’s anticipated general election.
Now that the government has implemented new regulations prohibiting the majority of overseas students from relocating to the UK with their families, Rishi Sunak is facing significant opposition from his own party about the reduction of both legal and illegal migration.
Unless they are enrolled in postgraduate research programmes or courses that are supported by government grants, international students who begin their studies this month will not be permitted to bring dependents into the UK.
First proposed in May of last year, the reforms were intended “to prevent misuse of the visa system” by the government.
According to ministers, it will result in about 140,000 fewer visitors to the UK annually.
486,000 student visas were granted to applicants in the year that ended in December 2022, an increase from 269,000 in 2019.
136,000 student visas were granted to dependents last year, which is eight times more than the 16,000 that were granted in 2019.
The government has had greater success combating illegal migration despite the difficulties associated with legal migration; for the first time since statistics have been kept, fewer people are crossing the Channel in small boats each year.
The estimated yearly total of 29,437 crossings for the year is 36% less than the record 45,774 crossings for the whole 2022 calendar year. It does, however, exceed the entire amount for 2021 (28,526).
Home Secretary James Cleverly praised the government for having “set out a tough plan to rapidly bring numbers down, control our borders and prevent people from manipulating our immigration system” in reference to the changes to the legal migration rules that now take effect.
“Today, a major part of that plan comes into effect, ending the unreasonable practice of overseas students bringing their family members to the UK,” he stated.
“This will see migration falling rapidly by the tens of thousands and contribute to our overall strategy to prevent 300,000 people from coming to the UK.”
Labour supports the limitations on dependents for international students enrolled in shorter courses, according to shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, but she added that “this is nothing more than a sticking plaster.”
“The Tories complete failure to tackle skills and labour market problems is undermining growth as well as increasing migration,” she stated.
Just a few days before Christmas, the administration suddenly withdrew one of the main components of its “more robust” package of additional steps to reduce legal migration, which it had unveiled in early December.
The bar for a family visa, which is intended for British citizens who want to bring their relatives to the UK, was scheduled to increase in the spring of 2019 from £18,600 to £38,700.
However, it became clear that the administration was reneging on the promise and would instead execute the change gradually, with the higher threshold set to take effect in “early 2025”; this led to accusations of “weakness” from Mr. Sunak’s own backbenchers.
In addition, the prime minister and his party are at odds over his attempts to launch the troubled Rwanda project.
After a heated debate, his “emergency legislation” to save the plan after the Supreme Court declared it illegal in November passed its second reading in the Commons early in December.
Mr. Sunak promised to halt tiny boats from crossing the Channel, which includes the Rwanda project.
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