International students planning to travel to Britain in order to pursue their studies may not be eligible to do so, after the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak, is considering limiting the number of international students.
According to local media reports, such an idea has been introduced as part of efforts to keep the migration situation under control, after the recent official statistics showed that net migration to Britain marked a significant increase recently, VisaGuide.World reports.
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is taking into consideration the possibility to introduce curbs on international students with low-quality degrees and bringing dependents into the country.
In this regard, a previous report in the Times revealed that the UK’s PM planned to introduce some measures to prevent a further increase in the number of international students, including restricting admissions to the most famous universities in Britain. In addition, the PM also considered the possibility to restrict visas for students’ dependents.
Previously, the UK Home Secretary, Suella Braverman complained regarding international students who bring to Britain family members, who according to her, can piggyback onto their student visa and also “propping up frankly, substandard courses in inadequate institutions.”
The figures provided previously by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that about 504,000 more people have moved to Britain than left for a period within 12 months to June 2022, marking a notable increase from 173,000 registered in the year to June 2021.
According to the ONS report, the increase was the result of many factors, taking also into account visa programs for citizens of Ukraine and Hong Kong, as well as students reaching the UK territory from countries that are not part of the European Union.
The same source emphasized the fact that people reaching Britain on study visas accounted the most regarding the largest proportion of long-term immigration of nationals outside the EU countries, at a total of 277,000 or 39 per cent.
According to the PM’s official spokesman, the Prime Minister was fully dedicated to bringing the immigration figures down, while he blamed unprecedented and unique circumstances for the significant increase in net migration figures.
“We’re considering all possibilities to ensure the immigration system is delivering, and that does include looking at the issue of student dependents and low-quality degrees,” the official pointed out in this regard.
However, such a proposal has already sparked controversies in the United Kingdom.
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