A dependent visa allows spouses and children to join a family member who holds a primary visa, such as a work or student visa, in a different country.
Meanwhile, British Home Secretary James Cleverly has said the “unreasonable practice” of international students bringing their family to the UK will end as restrictions on visa routes come into force beginning today. A near-eightfold rise in the number of family members joining foreign students led the UK government to announce the ban last year for those not studying “high-value” degrees under government plans. To prevent the misuse of the visa system, foreign students will not be allowed to transition from the student visa path to work routes until they have completed their studies.
As per an Evening Standard report, Cleverly said the government is delivering on its commitment to the British public by setting out a “tough plan” to cut migration by tens of thousands and prevent people from manipulating the UK immigration system. “Today, a major part of that plan comes into effect, ending the unreasonable practice of overseas students bringing their family members to the UK. This will see migration falling rapidly by the tens of thousands and contribute to our overall strategy to prevent 300,000 people from coming to the UK,” he said, news agency IANS reported. Revised Office for National Statistic (ONS) figures released last month indicated net migration reached a record figure of 745,000 in the year to December 2022.
Impact on Indian Students:
In the year ending September 2023, 152,980 visas were granted to dependents of students. According to the 2020-21 data, after China with 99,965 first-year enrollments, Indians constituted the second-largest group of international students arriving to study at UK universities, with 87,045 enrollments. As per the Ministry of External Affairs in 2022, the count of Indian students (excluding dependents) studying in the UK was 139,539. Education experts have expressed concern about the measure, saying international students will go to competitor nations if they are discouraged from coming to the UK. “I don’t celebrate the new changes…,” Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi) think tank, told The Standard. “International students benefit the UK in all sorts of ways. For example, they are vital to maintaining our world-class university sector as their fees cross-subsidise the teaching of home students and also help to fund UK research. According to estimates, international students add 35 billion pounds a year to the UK economy. Foreign students and their dependents contributed to the UK economy not just through fees of 10,000 pounds to 26,000 pounds but also via an NHS surcharge of 400 pounds a year for the student and 600 pounds for a dependent, according to the UK-based New Way Consultancy.**
