In a recent report by The Sun UK, it has been revealed that the United Kingdom government is set to announce modifications to its immigration policy, specifically targeting Nigerian students and other nationalities studying in the UK, to prevent them from bringing their families over.
The exclusive report stated that these new measures, designed to curb the large influx of families into the country, will be announced later this week.
According to the report, the crackdown will primarily affect master's students and certain other postgraduate students, who will be prohibited from bringing their families with them to the UK.
However, PhD students, who undergo highly skilled and longer courses lasting between 3 and 5 years, will be exempted from this ban.
The decision to implement these changes stems from the concerns surrounding the significant increase in net migration to the UK, which reached 1 million in a short period of time.
This alarming trend has prompted calls from Tory MPs for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to take action and address the surging numbers.
In response to these concerns, UK ministers are expected to announce the immigration clampdown on either Tuesday or Wednesday.
The report suggests that Rishi Sunak, in his defense, will highlight that these figures were inherited and date back to December 2022, two months after he assumed office as Prime Minister.
The Sun report further states, "There has been an explosion in the number of people coming to Britain piggybacking on their relative's student visa. Students brought 135,788 family members to Britain last year – nine times more than in 2019. Last year, 59,053 Nigerian students brought over 60,923 relatives."
While this development may address concerns over immigration in the UK, it also coincides with an outcry in Nigeria over the significant departure of qualified professionals, particularly in the healthcare sector, to the UK and other Western nations.
This phenomenon, known as "Japa," has led to a massive brain drain in the country, as skilled professionals continue to leave in search of better working conditions and higher pay packages.
