London: Bad news for the students who are planning to move to the United Kingdom on student visas as the country is likely to introduce a cap on the number of dependents international students can bring along with them.
Though it has not been finalized, the chances of the cap are higher as Cabinet Office Minister Nadhim Zahawi on Sunday joined Home Secretary Suella Braverman in raising their voice against the tremendous rise in dependent visas granted recently.
UK home office shows jump in dependent visas
The Home Office data shows that the number of dependents international students bring into the country increased from 13,664 in 2019 to 81,089 in 2022 (till June).
Speaking to Sky News, Zahawi said that international students are good for universities and the community but the rise in the number of dependents is a cause for concern.
He further said that it was expected that international students who are coming for postgraduate will bring their spouse along with them whereas those who are coming for Ph.D. will bring their spouse and a child along with them, however, a few of them are bringing 5-6 people which is not right.
Earlier, Braverman told the Tory conference that she wants to bring down the net immigration by stopping international students who are entering the country on ‘sub-standard’ courses.
What is dependent visa?
It is a visa given to spouses and minor children of students who take admission into postgraduate or PhD courses in the UK.
While international students are eligible to work for 20 hours per week during the semester and 40 hours during semester breaks, dependents can work full-time.
International students confused over PSW
International students who are currently in the UK and pursuing their graduation or post-graduation courses are worried about whether the government will scrap post study work (PSW) visas too.
PSW is the visa that is granted to students who successfully complete their education in the UK. Those who complete a bachelor’s or master’s degree get a two-year visa whereas students who secure Ph.D. degrees in the UK get three-year visa.
The PSW was last time scraped in 2012 by the then PM of the UK Theresa May. It was reintroduced in 2019 by ex-PM of the UK Boris Johnson.
It was reintroduced seeing the drop in students from Asia and Europe after Brexit. However, now as many students have taken admissions in the past three years, there is an anticipating that it may be scraped again.
Many students who have recently completed their courses in the UK are planning to apply for PSW without trying for sponsorship which is a better option for ‘indefinite leave to remain in the UK’.
