Universities UK International condemns government clampdown on foreign students

BRITISH academic institutional body the Universities UK International (UUK) has expressed its opposition to new government plans that will restrict the families of overseas students joining their spouses in the country saying it will have an adverse effect.

To come into effect in January 2024, these new laws are part of the plans of the Conservative government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to bring immigration, which currently stands at around 1m, down. Under the new rules, the UK will also remove the permission for international students to switch out of the student route and into work routes before their studies have been completed to prevent misuse of the visa system.

Furthermore, in addition, there will be a review of the maintenance requirement for students and dependents and a crackdown on those the government calls unscrupulous education agents, who make use of inappropriate applications to sell immigration, not education. This change takes effect in January to allow students starting courses in the UK time to plan to adapt to the new regime.

In a written ministerial statement published last Tuesday Home Secretary Suella Braverman said recent immigration figures had shown an unexpected rise in the number of dependants coming to the UK alongside international students. Nigeria is one of the countries being targeted in this crackdown, as her students are seen as those exploiting this loophole the most.

However, UUK, a body of universities, had said the move was a threat to Britain's global success as a top destination for international talent. According to the UK government, in the academic year ending June 2022, 486,868 sponsored study visas were granted, including dependants, which is 71% more than in 2019, the last full year before the pandemic.

UUK director Jamie Arrowsmith said: “International students make an invaluable contribution to our universities and to the UK’s economy. Building on the government’s explicit commitments and ambitions, which were clearly set out in the international education strategy, we have seen significant growth since 2019."

Meanwhile, Carol Monaghan, the member for Parliament for Glasgow North West has condemned the new immigration policy. She said the students and their families make valuable contributions to the UK, contributing £40bn to the economy in 2022.

According to the UK lawmaker, the international students enrich the UK society as they have skills, which have proved useful across key sectors. Ms Monaghan said: “With labour shortages in healthcare, STEM, IT, to name a few, how can the minister fail to recognise that this policy will aggravate these?

"I’d like to ask the minister, what assessments have been carried out on the economic impact of this change on the university sector? The reality is that many students who come into the UK look beyond their studies and want their families to be part of their experience.

“Without a way for overseas students to bring their families, many will opt to go elsewhere and any drop in international students numbers will cause further harm to universities that are already facing financial difficulties.”