Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Britain to limit migration by family of international students

For the year ending June 2022, net migration reached an all-time high of 504,000

Britain to limit migration by family of international students

BRITAIN on Tuesday (23) announced a package of measures aimed at international students, including a ban on some family members, as ministers come under growing pressure to cut immigration.

After a drop during the pandemic, net migration has been steadily on the rise and is reportedly expected to hit a record high this year.


Official figures published last November estimated net migration to June 2022 at just over 500,000.

Under the new proposals, only students on postgraduate courses designated as research programmes will be able to bring dependants to the UK while they study.

Overseas students will be prevented from switching "out of the student route into work routes" before their studies have been completed.

There will also be "improved and more enforcement activity" and a clamp down on "unscrupulous agents" using education as a cover for immigration, according to a government statement.

Some 136,000 visas were issued to the dependants of international students last year - up eight-fold from the 16,000 in 2019, home secretary Suella Braverman said in a written statement to parliament.

Braverman, a Brexit hardliner whose rhetoric on immigration has caused controversy - said overseas students played an important part in supporting the UK economy.

But she added that it should not come at the cost of the government's "commitment to the public to lower overall migration and ensure that migration to the UK is highly skilled and therefore provides the most benefit".

Braverman said the proposals struck the "right balance" and would likely see net migration "fall to pre-pandemic levels in the medium term".

Last year, Indian students have for the first time overtaken Chinese as the largest group of foreign students studying in the UK with a massive 273 per cent hike in visas granted over the past few years.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), there were 127,731 (study visa) grants to Indian nationals in the year ending September 2022, an increase of 93,470 (273 per cent) compared to 2019 (34,261).

Chinese students granted 116,476 visas during the period, 2 per cent fewer than the number seen in 2019 (119,231).

Immigration was one of the main battlegrounds of the Brexit referendum in 2016 which saw the UK leave the European Union.

Since 2018, the country has seen thousands of people successfully cross the English Channel in small boats to claim asylum.

More than 45,000 arrived last year, heaping political pressure on the government which promised to "take back control" of Britain's borders.

Then prime minister Boris Johnson agreed a deal with Rwanda last year to relocate failed asylum seekers to the central African country.

But the scheme has been mired in legal battles and is yet to get underway.

The end of freedom of movement for workers within the EU due to Brexit and tighter immigration rules have also proved controversial for business.

Many sectors that previously relied heavily on EU workers, particularly agriculture and health and social care, have experienced deep skills shortages.

(AFP)

More For You

Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case
Bhim Kohli

Court to review teen's sentence in Bhim Kohli case

THE seven-year prison sentence handed to a 15-year-old boy convicted of the manslaughter of 80-year-old Bhim Sen Kohli is to be reviewed under the UK’s Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme.

The Attorney General’s Office confirmed on Friday (5) that the teenager’s sentence will now be considered by the Court of Appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama attends a prayer meet held for his long life at the Dalai Lama temple in the northern hill town of Dharamshala, India, July 5, 2025. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

Dalai Lama hopes to live 'beyond 130 years'

THE Dalai Lama said on Saturday (5) he hopes to live until he is more than 130 years old, two decades longer than his previous prediction, following his assurance to followers that he would reincarnate as the spiritual head of the faith upon his death.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner was speaking during a ceremony organised by his followers to offer prayers for his long life, ahead of his 90th birthday on Sunday (6), and as China insists it will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama told Reuters in December he might live to 110.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK heatwave by mid-July

Daytime temperatures meeting or exceeding set thresholds of 25°C

iStock

Met Office warns of potential third UK heatwave by mid-July

Key points

  • Met Office forecasts rising temperatures by mid-July
  • Possible third heatwave after record-breaking June
  • High pressure system likely to bring hot air from the Atlantic
  • Yellow rain warning and flood alerts issued in parts of Scotland and Cumbria

Possible heatwave to return by mid-July

The UK could experience its third heatwave in a month by mid-July, the Met Office has said. Forecasters expect rising heat and humidity during the second weekend of July, following two weekends of unusually warm weather in late June.

June was officially the hottest on record in England, and the return of high temperatures could mean another heatwave for parts of the country. However, the Met Office cautioned that it is too early to confirm how hot conditions will get.

Keep ReadingShow less
crypto

Two men have been jailed for defrauding investors of £1.5 million through a fake crypto investment scheme. (Representational image: iStock)

iStock

Two jailed over £1.5m crypto investment scam

TWO people who duped investors of £1.5 million by selling fake investments in crypto have been jailed for 12 years, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said.

Raymondip Bedi, of Bromley, and Patrick Mavanga, of Peckham, conned at least 65 people by cold-calling them between February 2017 and June 2019. They operated companies including CCX Capital and Astaria Group LLP.

Keep ReadingShow less
Manchester Police probes over 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects

Photo for representation. (iStock)

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Manchester Police probes over 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects

GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE is now investigating more than 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects, following years of public criticism and institutional failings in tackling child sexual exploitation.

A new report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has revealed the force has made “significant improvements” in dealing with group-based sexual abuse and related crimes.

Keep ReadingShow less