Just two days before the expected announcement on the dependents coming with the main applicants to the United Kingdom, the government has made a decision on the news.

Why The UK Bans Dependants To Come With the Main Applicants

NewStori had reported the news wherewith the UK is making plans to stop Masters students from coming with their families as dependants.

The decision to stop this was anchored on the fact that there has been a surge on immigrants to the UK through this route and the government is concerned.

Last year, 135,788 visas were granted to dependants of foreign students, nearly nine times the 2019 figure.

The Position of the UK Prime Minister on Immigration

Rishi Sunak, the UK Prime Minister had told ministers that the move would help bring migration down.

He told the cabinet that the change which will begin in January 2024 will make a "significant difference to the numbers," according to No 10.

The Implications of Students Visas Rise in the UK

The umbrella body for British Universities, Universities UK (UUK) raised concerns on how dependant visas had led to challenges especially over family accommodation.

According to HESA, an education data group, there were 679,970 international students in the UK in 2021/2022.

Of these 307,470 were undergraduates, who already can't bring family members to the UK during their course.

There were 372,500 postgraduates, of whom 46,350 are on research courses - the vast majority of them for PhDs, along with a small number of research-based masters degrees.

Students coming to the UK with a visa need to provide documents proving their relationship to dependants, who have to pay £490 for a visa.

Dependants are also required to pay the immigration health surcharge - an annual contribution between £470 and £624 towards NHS services.

Credits: https://www.newstori.com/its-official-uk-stop-masters-students-from-coming-with-their-dependants-effective-from-2024/