Why Our Govt Banned Dependents Visa For Nigerian Students – British High Commissioner
Richard Montgomery, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, gave an explanation of the UK government’s 2024 decision to forbid international students from bringing their families.
As part of a new strategy introduced by the British Government to reduce migration, Nigerians and other foreign nationals with study visas to the United Kingdom would no longer be permitted to bring in their families from January 2024.
Montgomery claims that the choice was made in order to prevent stress on the nation’s housing system and to regulate the influx of migrants.
“Many more students are trying to bring their dependents with them…but it’s not always possible to find the housing and services to meet all the needs of our existing student population…we’ll have to manage our migration in and out of the UK,” Montgomery revealed shortly after he emerged from a closed-door meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Following the submission of the letter of credence to former President Muhammadu Buhari on May 18, the meeting takes place.
Remember that the UK Home Office had stated that foreign students, including Nigerians, would not be permitted to change from a student visa to a work visa until their studies concluded.
International students, educational institutions, and some British lawmakers have, however, reacted differently to the decision. They claimed that the regulation would worsen labor shortages in crucial industries like healthcare and jeopardize the nation’s reputation as a top source of foreign talent.
However, the British High Commissioner responded to a query from State House Correspondents explained the regulation, saying, “I think there are two issues here. The first is, it’s not always possible to find the housing and services to meet all the needs of all our existing student population.
“And second, reasonable people would accept that we have to manage our visitor numbers and we’ll have to manage our migration in and out of the UK just as the Nigerian government would do,” he added.
Montgomery revealed that despite making up 10% of those granted UK visas each year, the number of Nigerian students in the UK had surged five-fold in the previous three years.
“That issue was not raised in the meeting (with the Vice President) just now. But I would like to put the media debate about it in a broader context. Last year (2022), for example, the UK granted three million new visas, of which 325,000 were to Nigerians.
“Nigerian visitors constitute over 10 per cent of the people coming to London and the UK.
“It’s a fantastic success story for our universities. And we are really delighted that so many Nigerians are coming to the UK,” he said.
The Bola Tinubu administration’s present policy approach, which is, according to the British High Commissioner, being warmly embraced by UK investors, was brought up in his conversations with Shettima, the High Commissioner for Britain said.
“As I discussed with His Excellency, the big economic decisions being taken by this government are really important and are being noticed around the world: the removal of subsidy, the exchange rate reform, all of that create a much better investment environment.
“I was in London last week; I was briefing my ministers, but I was also talking to british business in finance, banking and investment sectors. They are all responding very positively to these first decisions,” Montgomery stated.
He added that they discussed how the British government could help Nigerians cope with the discontinuation of petroleum subsidy, which had resulted in “tough times.”
“We know that there are tough times going on at the moment, inflation and unemployment.
“The vice president and I also touched on some of the measures that might be possible to cushion the blow of some of these economic pressures.
“But I think the big issue is that these reforms help put Nigeria on a higher growth path; they will attract more investments and the United Kingdom and the city of London see Nigeria as a big opportunity going forward. I will be doing my part to try to boost those, enhance trade and investment,” he said.
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