The latest online reports reveal that the UK plans to ban dependents of foreign students. The government of the United Kingdom might now plan to put a ban on bringing the family members of foreign students. The restrictions could be put on immediate family members such as spouses and kids.
UK Plans to Ban Dependents of Foreign Students – Details
The reports further depict that international students studying engineering, mathematics, and science will be only able to bring their immediate family members to the UK to join them while they study there.
The reports also add that international students will also be banned from bringing their family members unless they are studying at a high level like a postgraduate degree i.e., a Master’s degree or PhD (doctorate) program.
Rise of Family Members
It has been reported that the United Kingdom has registered around an eightfold rise in the number of dependents (family members) joining international students studying at universities or institutions in the UK. According to the reports, approximately five lakh students were issued student visas last year, and they were accompanied by approximately 135,788 dependents, which was up from the figure of 16,047 in 2019.
India turned out to be the biggest source of students with approximately 161,000 students including 33,240 family members who came to the United Kingdom last year.
Will The Restriction (Ban) Be Applied?
The UK government is yet to take a final decision on this issue. The reports suggest that if this ban is put on bringing the family members of foreign students to the United Kingdom, it will reduce the number of international students coming to the UK. It will ultimately bankrupt UK universities, which largely depend on foreign students.
How Much Foreign Students Add to the Economy of the UK
The estimates reveal that foreign students add around 35 billion GBP a year to the economy of the United Kingdom. International students and their dependents contribute to the economy of the UK from 10,000 GBP to 26,000 GBP a year. They also add to the economy via an NHS surcharge of 400 GBP per year for an international student and 600 GBP for a dependent.
Now, it is a fact that this move is going to affect the foreign students studying there in the UK at the universities or colleges. Majority of the students want to bring their dependents there to join them. But, this move is not going to get them happy nor the move is going to benefit them.
Well, the changes in the laws often take place. So, international students might wait to witness the change in the laws soon so that they can start getting a sigh of relief. International students do add values to the country’s economy, thus, the government should take some action to provide them the sigh of relief. Let’s wait to see what happen in the future.