Challenging times are about to hit “japa” candidates who hope to use a UK student visa to move their family to the country. “Japa” is a term used by Nigerians to describe immigration from the country
The United Kingdom is to bar international students from bringing the spouses and dependents to the country unless they study high value degrees like science, mathematics and engineering.
The Times of London is reporting that the UK government has become concerned with the almost eightfold rise in the number of family members coming to the country on the platform of a students visa.
In 2022, Nigerians accounted for the highest increase in the number of dependants joing a student visa holder to the country.
Nigerian students were accompained by 135,788 dependants up from 16,047 in 2019. That is a staggering rise in the number of dependants.
This trend has attracted the attention of the UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak and the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman.
Now a new clause would be introduced whereby foreign students would be banned from bringing in any family members except they are studying for a masters degree or PhD.
Also, foreign students would be given a maximum of six months to find a job or leave the UK after finishing their studies.
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