UK visa crackdown leads to drastic drop in student dependents

Source: The Siasat Daily
Author: Sameer Khan

London: The UK government has welcomed a "significant fall" in the number of dependents, or close family members such as a spouse and children, accompanying overseas students after its crackdown on student visas from early this year.

In an update issued on Tuesday from January to March this year compared to the same period in 2023, the Home Office said that dependents had drastically fallen by almost 80 per cent amid over 26,000 fewer student visa applications made.

Indians have led the international student visa tally in recent years and these figures indicate that a downward trend noted earlier this year is likely to mean fewer Indian students choosing UK universities.

Under rules effective from January, most international students except those on research courses cannot bring along family members. They can no longer switch their visa either before completing their course, which the government claimed misused the student visa as a "backdoor" to work in the UK amid a wider Home Office clampdown on institutions "selling immigration not education."

"Ever-spiralling numbers were eroding the British people's confidence in our immigration system, burdening public services and suppressing wages," said UK Home Secretary James Cleverly, whose office released the interim data to highlight the impact of his visa crackdowns.

"When I promised to deliver the largest-ever cut in legal migration, I knew we must also work to show the impact of our action as soon as practically possible. This data shows a significant fall in numbers on the first of our measures to take effect whilst underlining why necessary action was taken to cut unsustainable numbers of care worker dependents," he said.

The minister said there is more still to come in the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak-led government plans to "cut migration."

According to official statistics from February, between 2019 and 2023 the number of Indians granted study visas rose by 85,849 - making up the highest cohort of international students in the UK. However, the 1,20,110 study visa grants to Indian nationals in 2023 was 14 per cent fewer than in 2022 - already indicating a downward trend amid the tightening visa norms.

The government's review of the post-study Graduate Route, which allows overseas students to look for work and gain experience for up to two years after their degree, is widely expected to further restrict international students' options in the UK when the independent Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) submits its report later this month.

This, experts believe, will see more Indians turning away from applying to UK universities after topping the tally of this visa route since it was launched in 2021.

Recently, Canada announced work hour cap for student visa holders including those from India.

"The temporary policy allowing students to work more than 20 hours per week off campus will come to an end on April 30, 2024, and it will not be extended," Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, said in a press release issued on Monday.

However, students will be able to work off-campus for up to 24 hours per week starting in September.

"This fall, we intend to change the number of hours students may work off campus per week to 24 hours," he said.