Zahra29:

Nice story...you can tell it's fiction though because if you call this a hostile environment, what would you call what the windrush gen and some others suffered circa 2012 - 2018?

Thanks for seeing the niceness init oya, come and pay for reading it Haha

To your question, 'that's what he does every year [always]' captures the inconsistencies, rants, yelling, policy somersaults, since the days of Windrush to May's era, and what's playing out today. Personally, I am hardly surprised with the inconsistency in UK's immigration policies. But ranting about people's presence after you granted them visas to come is just annoying.

Goke7:


well packaged, wish it can be published or even sent to the parliament

Wish it could haha

Once upon a time, a man sent out 1,000 invitations for a feast in his house. The invitees were happy, booked flight tickets, bought new dresses, and packed enough luggage for the 3-day event. They also brought gold and silver to spend at the feast.

But shortly after they arrived at the occasion, the host started complaining about their presence.
“They are too many!”
“I need my privacy!”
“These aren’t the type of guests I was expecting!”
The host whined every minute.

“But you chose the guests yourself, handwritten their names and signed each invite,” his wife reminded him.
“Yes, I know but still I want them out!”

So, he decided to turn the venue into a ‘hostile environment’ towards the guests.
He started by removing their seats.
He ordered his servants to remove food and drinks from their tables and feed them to the dogs.

When the guests have had enough, they started leaving one after the other
But shortly after, the host realised that the merchandise tables he set up at various corners of the venue were experiencing low patronage.
A week before the feast, he had shipped in expensive goods on credit, banking on the huge profit he’d make off his guests.

Just as he pondered the imminent loss from the goods, the servants called out.
“Master, the freezers are full and we have nowhere to store the food.”
“Also, the dogs refused to eat the little we served them, as they aren’t used to the taste,” another servant announced.

Now, it suddenly dawned on him the loss and wastage he was about to suffer
So, he brought out another round of invitations to be sent to the same set of guests
But this time around with so many promises and relaxed eligibility criteria
He would also sell the merchandise at a cheaper price to mitigate his loss

But then, the invitees weren’t really surprised.
They know the host very well.
This is what he does every year.

The story of one generous, I mean very generous country.

lawani:


I believe everybody should be serious and build their nations. The Earth should be evenly developed. I don't believe in polygamy. They don't believe in it in India too. Once an Indian takes a new passport, he or she will need a visa to visit India

Well, people pursue second passport not necessarily because their country isn't developed. China is among the most developed countries, yet its many citizens line up are after US citizenship. People from the UK, US, EU are still obtaining other countries passports for different reasons. You see, that you don't believe in something doesn't make it useless. Even polygamy is some people's way of life and that some people may vilify the practice doesn't make it useless, at least to them. 2nd passport has opened doors of opportunities to several people and can never be useless to those who know how to leverage it.

Gerrard59:
Just to state it here, anyone who tells you dual nationality should not be, even when the person is in Canada, hustling for women with residency to marry him should be avoided. You need to have dual nationality to access most good jobs these days. If na lie, ask your tech bros who have fled as na major way to get good jobs in their industry. In the long run, dual nationality gives one stability in one's career.

Bro I tire oooo. How would someone think dual citizenship is useless haha. Yet people are lining up to spend $900k or $1.8m to acquire EB-5 visa.

lawani:


Dual citizenship is something that should not be. It makes no sense. You need only one citizenship and in other places you can be an expatriate (migrant worker).

Care to explain why you think dual citizenship is useless? Have you ever been limited or denied an opportunity because you only have a Nigerian passport? If dual citizenship is so useless, do you think people will be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars or spending years in a country they don't really like or even marrying someone they don't really like just to acquire it?

Nonsense!!!

Lolli2pop:
On a different note i just saw a flight deal on booking.com that I have struggled to match with any airline’s website(booking .com is combining two different airline, i guess that is why theirs is cheaper)… please has anyone here had any personal experience with booking.com

I got a very fine deal that I couldn't find elsewhere with them in March and no regret whatsoever. I don't know about combining two different airlines though, mine was Turkish Airlines round trip.

Gemma11:


Well clearly, the govt is doing something about it. You and ur Ilk are the ones crying about the change in policy. I have explained why I see nothing wrong with it. I don’t understand why genuine Nigerian students in the UK should be tarnished by those who have other agendas.

Olodos, dubious etc… didn’t call anyone these but if the shoe fits, wear it well.

I actually thought I was having a conversation with an adult

Gemma11:


1. Never said it was. I just used 'brilliance' as a descriptor of many young Nigerian students in the UK of which there are.

2. But realistically, a mature man or woman who has already lived a good proportion of this life deciding to sell everything to move to a different country on a student visa for a dubious master's degree on the chance of settling permanently is only setting themselves up for a fall and a life of complaining about how they were 'tricked' into coming.

3. Disagree. The younger brain is more adaptable to learning. Most traditional undergrad students are also aged 18-25 unmarried with no dependents..a reason why most universities only offer single dwellings for their students and not family homes. Masters degree students on average are aged about 30.

4. You are conflating issues. The discussion is about student visas and not any other immigration visa. If one chooses to immigrate then they should use the right visa to do so. Don't try to have a party in a bucket...in short don't into the UK on the restrictive student visa with 5 dependents, no funds and then complain when you are not allowed to work more than 20 hours a week to support said family.

5. Is that so? Then why the outcry over the ban on dependents for student visas? The Other visas are not impacted so why can't Nigerians just use the correct visa to enter the country with their dependents? The fact that people are crying over this and calling for the head of Emdee over what he said just shows who needs who.

6. No cast system here. I see no reason why the UK Government should risk the reputation of their educational establishments and world university rankings by just allowing all sorts of olodos to use the student visa route to enter the UK when it is clear that such people have another agenda.

As I said, there have been many and are still many many brilliant intelligent Nigerian students regardless of background...fresh from Nigeria in studying places like Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, Imperial etc doing great things getting distinctions and first class honours in worthwhile high value degress which will yield high paying jobs.

This is typical of the Nigerian student worth of a UK student visa and it has always been the case since time immemorial.




This new influx of dodgy Nigerian students with their countless of dependents and who are clearly using the system as a back door are not the type I will ever support sorry.

Dubious, dodgy, olodos in just one post. Haba, on to say people come study for UK? Nobody deserves all these demeaning name calling, except you have personal vendetta against them or you can prove they are here illegally.

But then, I'm not surprised, because even Emily Carver earlier in the week couldn't but look stupid after being confronted with facts. In her attempt to defend the policy, she had said on national TV that international are coming with their "grannies".

Even on these forum, I've seen someone said they're coming with their entire village. Really?

What comments like yours and those other ones show is that many people only read headlines and are too sentimental.

If I may remind you, no international student has stayed beyond their studies without the government's approval. No international student can have a Visa without the government issuing CAS to them. And same goes for their dependents.

So, if you think their degrees are dubious, they're olodos, and are dodgy and migrating through backdoor, perhaps your anger should be directed to the govt who implemented those Visa rules, accredited those courses and gave continuous stay to foreign students and their dependents after the completion of their studies.

Lolli2pop:
Hi guys, I am trying to purchase a flight to Nigeria. The prices i am seeing are really crazy.

Does anyone know any travel agents or websites with very affordable rates.

Please ohh any help would be appreciated

Have you checked Booking.com? I got quite a good offer there 2 months ago.

rinzylee:
I travelled with Egyptair to Nigeria.

A lot happened....



I will write my story soon

I hope you had a good experience with them. Waiting to read your story

deept:


Immigrant - the gov knows you are here to stay.

Non-immigrant - it is expected that you return after the purpose of your trip is fulfilled.

Oh, I think I get your point now. But tbh, bringing non immigrant vs immigrant Visa argument to a UK immigration discussion seems off topic.

The last time I checked, it's the US, not the UK, that uses such categorisation. And even in that US, many non immigrant visas like H1B, L1, O1 are dual-intent routes, meaning holders can switch from them to various categories of employment based migrant visas aka green card.

And the non dual intent like F1 has options for things like OPT, which you can switch from first to H1B, and then later to a migrant Visa, so long you meet the requirements.

And that's my point in the other post you quoted. It's normal for people, regardless of their original route into a country, to switch from one immigration status to another. It doesn't matter the Visa you came with, as long as you undergo the lawful process, nobody should call it backdoor migration.

This article on Metro sums up the whole motive behind the Ukrainian settlement scheme.

https://metro.co.uk/2022/04/14/we-should-care-about-all-asylum-seekers-not-just-ones-who-look-like-us-16440666/

The whole summary of it is it wasn't particularly motivated by care for humanity, but rather by care for "humans who look like us".

BuildingProject:


Milk type no matter.
The most important is the milk to change the taste of the kolaq cause it is bitter(Agbo). And so that it can form a perfect smoothie and you can drink it in her presence without you questioned about the buildingproject you wan start. 😂🤣🤣😂

deept:


Immigrant vs. non immigrant visa

I don't quite get this please?

Zahra29:


Again, no one is castigating international students. The government has gone to great lengths to highlight the positive contribution students make to the country.

It was the unsustainable number of dependents that became an issue (which most universities admitted to)

It depends on the angle it's being viewed from. You may see it differently, but personally, I think it's wrong and sounds 'castigating' to say people are using the student route to migrate through the backdoor. This is the narrative being pushed by the Suella Braverman-led HO and it's being bought by many people.

One point people seem to be missing in all this international student discussion is that regardless of your status today, so long you came in with a visa, you are not different from the international students the government and its fans are portraying as opportunists and leeches.

If you came via a family visa, you must have switched your status from dependent of ILR holder or British citizen before you have your permanent residence, and maybe to citizenship later.

If you came on a work visa, you must have done the same.

If you came as a refugee, you must have claimed asylum and then have your application granted before you had your stay.

So, does that make you entitled, leeches, a burden to the system, an opportunist?

The same thing most settled migrants in the UK did is what international students are doing today.

They came with a student visa, applied for PSW and were granted because the govt deemed them qualified, and if they feel like switching to a Skilled Worker visa thereafter, and then to ILR much after, it is still all the same process followed by every migrant today.

So, it is unfair making it look like they are migrating through the backdoor. The only people who might deserve to be vilified are those staying illegally.

So, where is this narrative of "they are trying to stay indefinitely comes from"?

I agree that the government has to do what they think is the best for their country, but they can do it without stigmatizing those who committed absolutely no offence.

hustla:


Would at least provide a list and then google will do the rest

Okay.

hustla:


Use ChatGpt for questions like this

😀
But ChatGPT's most recent updated information was September 2021. Op could be misled with old information if they followed gpt lol

AirBay:


All the refugees that came in like herds of cattle via the sea, those ones did not increase immigration number, its the people that contributed £10k-£16k for fees, paid NHS for at least family of 2, paid British Airways, Worked and paid overtime taxes...............F**K UK.

The thing tire me o. Tbh, I don't even care what they do with their migration rules, my concern is the so much noise about the whole thing. Using words like piggybacking, backdoor, abuse of system, etc is a stigma and an insult to international students who worked hard, followed the laid down procedures and paid the required fees with their hard earned money.

And if you as the government think anyone is abusing the application process, it's your embassies in those countries you should be tasking to up their game and curb the abuse.

You were not under duress when issuing CAS to these people, you weren't held at gunpoint when issuing visas to them and their dependents. So, it was clear to you how many of them would be arriving even before they landed. Also, you didn't complain when your Universities were collecting fees from them, you gladly received their Visa fees and IHS. Then why the complaint for goodness sake!

justwise:
The whole noise about immigration figures is just ridiculous.

Foreign students came here legally, they did not come in through the English channels or back of lorries, British embassies collected thousands of £££££, access their applications and stamped their passports with visa. They got into the UK, got a job and keep paying into the system. These foreign students paid for NHS even before using it.

The same British government that allowed them in is now crying about immigration figures.

Is this not stupid of the highest level?

No foreign student came in with wife and children hidden in hand luggage, the immigration allowed them in genuinely and now they are blaming them for increasing immigration figures.

Nonsense !

Honestly, I don't understand this government and their fans.

After setting up rules and people are following the same rules to get visas and paying huge, why are they still crying and complaining about them piggybacking and migrating through backdoor. There's just too much noise about the student route that you'd think international students came through boats. It's all about choices, when they tightened their borders years ago, people found alternatives, now that they're back at it, the same will happen. It's their right to choose who they allow into their country but it's wrong to keep bad mouthing people whose only crime was following the rules you set up.

koonbey:
I don't know how the care industry works she but how are employers getting away with bringing people and then not paying them?

Because Ko ye mi rara how someone can be in the country for months and not be paid despite having come in on a visa that requires both employer and employee to commit to a certain salary payment minimum.

If it was a normal contract the employer would be liable to pay in full at the end of every month for as long as the contract subsists, regardless of whether they give shifts.

So, are people getting SW visas on 0-hour contracts? Abi are the employers simply not paying the salaries due per contract?

That's one of my grudges with Home Office. They are not performing their oversight on care industry employers as they ought to. Many reports, both anecdotal and academic findings, with recommendations, are there showing the massive abuse going on in that industry but the government just keeps issuing more CoS without adequate checks on whether the current workers are being treated well. I still don't understand what's difficult in checking the number of clients an agency has and ensuring they only get CoS for the capacity needed to serve the client base. I know someone that didn't earn a dime for over 2 months after they arrived and I know how difficult it was surviving. Honestly, people in that industry are going a lot while their greedy employers feed fat on their "CoS fees". Too bad

LagosismyHome:


So true. ..... we need to start writing list of noise makers

Lol

Zahra29:


I expect they will be forced to act when the net migration figures are released next week which are largely expected to be around 700k, possibly more. It is difficult to overstate how alarming these numbers are to their base and a large part of the country. For context, it's much higher than when Blair was (/is still) blamed for inviting all of Eastern Europe to the UK back around 2004. There were bitter complaints when the migration figures hovered around a mere 200k when we were still in the EU, and this was one of the key catalysts for brexit.

They won't make sweeping changes as that will disproportionately affect other student groups like the Chinese. But as iyatrustee said, they know that certain changes, such as banning dependants on a 1 yr course, will mainly affect targeted groups who they see as abusing the system and pushing up the migration figures.

Especially now that the media/ public appears to have cottoned on that the boat crossings numbers are a drop in the ocean compared to the current levels of legal migration, so they can't keep flinging that dead cat as a distraction tactic.

Cc: Iyatrustee

I agree with you that at some point, certain changes must be made to reduce the rising number. However, each option they have puts them in a dicey situation which has forced them to tread with caution.

Remember, apart from Brexit, there's a reason all these perks (2 years post study, bringing in dependents) were implemented in the first place. They were losing a great deal of their market share to Canada, Australia and some other countries after Theresa May reduced post graduate stay length that time.

Now that have regained the traction, if they allow only students on top courses to bring dependents, they'll lose many students who'd rather choose other destinations or remain in their home countries rather than learning their dependents behind.

If they limit it to only top ranking universities, the same would happen. And the mid and low ranking schools would not want that.

If they stop or reduce post study Visa to six months, same would happen.

And this lost of Market share to other destinations could be significantly high. Unfortunately for them, the Home Office want to reduce migration but the education sector don't seem to be ready to lose out on revenues from international markets.

It's a case of wanting to eat your cake and still have it. If they really want to reduce the student migration, perhaps they should start reducing the number of students each school can enrol in a year. Cutting international enrollment will automatically reduce number of dependents.

One trend I've noticed with many UK postgraduate schools is they they seem to prioritize money above quality. Many of them are opening annexes to enrol more students, getting not so competent lecturers on contracts, churning out degrees year in year out. If the government's is ready to really cut migration, they should start from there.

LagosismyHome:

Legally can the home office do this retrospectively.... I doubt it. This will be challenged in court

They can say moving forward but to do it for those who have switched... Lawyers won't allow this to fly

I've stopped taking Suella Braverman and her people at HO seriously. They like making noise about student visas and asylum seekers as a way to keep reminding their fans "hey we're still here and doing our job" and to keep giving the media something to write about. Like someone said, it's all politics. Same strategy employed by Priti Patel in her days.

They themselves know that any drastic move with student route will drastically affect their education and economy as the EU market isn't available again. They know it's a delicate situation but then again how else could they woo electorates to their side if not by telling them what they like to hear?

pocohantas:
Marriage should be enjoyed, not endured.
Worse case you tolerate and make compromises.

Nigerians are on another thread crying about high divorce rates amongst Nigerians in the UK whereas many of them wouldn't marry someone like their fathers and mothers for even 2 years. But you somehow expect this shaku shaku generation that loves suicide to ENDURE?

The problem is not America or UK. The problem is the foundation of Nigerian marriages and our vengeful attitude as a people. You are the one divorcing the man, not the kids. Please, allow children access to the other parent.

All this talk of staying for "the kids" is unnecessary. He is dead now. The kids are alive. They will probably live longer than he did.

So, was it worth it?
May his soul rest in peace

God bless you a million times! Nothing, including marriage and kids, is worth dying for. Whenever I hear people die because of marriage, I always wish they had walked away. It pains me when someone, regardless of gender pay with their life trying to save their marriage, especially when they say "because of kids". Kids that will barely mourn for a few months and move on. The reality of everything is that life goes on with or without us. RIP Saint Obi

hustla:


Na whine naw

O ye of little faith

rinzylee:


Already booked and paid for.

My friend had a great experience last May or so.

He was even lodged in a hotel and picked up in the morning.


I believe I'd have a great flight

Oh, I didn't know you'd already booked. Sure you might have a great experience. Wishing you a safe and fun filled trip. Remember to bring kulikuli for us o

rinzylee:


Wow..... now I'm scared o. Dear Lord save me.

Lol. Well, you might have a better experience. But I will suggest you try other alternatives if you still can.

Solumtoya:


Lai lai o, we must enter 1000!

Seconded