Japa: New restrictions on overseas students bringing family to UK come into force

A key element of Rishi Sunak’s plan to reduce legal migration to the UK comes into effect on January 1 – but he still faces fights with his backbenches to reduce both legal and illegal migration ahead of a general election expected this year.

The government’s new rules preventing most international students from bringing family to the UK are now in effect – but Rishi Sunak still faces a huge fight with his own party over reducing both legal and illegal migration.

Any international students starting courses from this month will not be able to bring dependants to the UK, unless they are on postgraduate research courses or courses with government-funded scholarships.

The changes were first announced last May as part of the government’s bid “to prevent misuse of the visa system.”

Ministers say it will see around 140,000 fewer people come to the UK each year.

In the year ending December 2022, 486,000 student visas were issued to applicants – up from 269,000 in 2019.

Last year, the number of student visas issued to dependants stood at 136,000 – an eight-fold increase from 2019, when 16,000 were provided.

Despite the challenges in legal migration, the government has seen more success tackling illegal migration, with the number migrants crossing the Channel on small boats down year-on-year for the first time since records began.

The provisional annual total for the year, 29,437, is 36% lower than the record 45,774 crossings for the whole of 2022. However, it is higher than the total figure for 2021 (28,526).

Welcoming the legal migration rule changes that enter force today, Home Secretary James Cleverly said the government has “set out a tough plan to rapidly bring numbers down, control our borders and prevent people from manipulating our 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,” he added.

“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.”

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said Labour supports the restrictions on dependants for overseas students on shorter courses but added “this is nothing more than a sticking plaster”.

“The Tories complete failure to tackle skills and labour market problems is undermining growth as well as increasing migration,” she added.