Published data from the Office of National Statistics yesterday, show record levels of net migration to the UK with about 606,000 people being added to the UK population. This is 118,000 higher than a year previously. 925,000 non-EU nationals arrived in the UK in 2022, followed by 151,000 EU. Read the whole report here.
Package to come into effect starting January 2024
Acting on the above data, the government has introduced a package that will come into effect for international students starting in January 2024 with 2 major changes.
International students who come to the UK can no longer bring family members as dependents with them unless they are on postgraduate courses which are designated as research programmes.
It removes the ability for international students to switch away from the student route and into work routes before finishing their studies. This is “to prevent misuse of the visa system” as the government has mentioned.
This package comes after the unexpected rise of dependants which last year showed an eightfold increase from 16,000 in 2019 to 136,000 in 2022.
Who are the ‘dependants’?
Here’s a definition from the UK government.
"Your partner and children (‘dependants’) may be able to apply to come to the UK or stay longer in the UK.
A dependant partner or child is one of the following:
your husband, wife or civil partner
your unmarried partner
your child under 18 years old - including if they were born in the UK during your stay"
Downing Street has labelled the new move as the “single biggest tightening measure a government has ever done”.