- There has been a significant drop in Foreign Student family applications to UK. The number of foreign students applying to bring family members to the UK has fallen by 80% from 32,900 in the first three months of 2023 to 6,700 in the same period in 2024.
- The number of foreign students applying for visas also decreased from 39,900 to 34,000.
- The Home Office data indicates a 24% drop in applications across three visa categories reformed by Home Secretary James Cleverly.
- There was a last-minute rush for visas by relatives of foreign care workers, who were barred from bringing dependants into the UK from March 11.
- Skilled worker visa applications rose slightly, with a slight increase in dependants’ applications.
- The changes in immigration rules are likely to impact overall net migration figures, with the Home Office estimating a fall of 300,000 a year.
Newsypeople – Recent data indicates a significant decrease in the number of foreign students seeking to bring family members to the UK, with applications dropping by 80% compared to the previous year. The Home Office statistics reveal that from January to March of this year, there were only 6,700 applications to bring spouses, children, and other relatives to Britain, a stark contrast to the nearly 33,000 applications during the same period in the previous year. Additionally, the number of foreign students applying for visas has decreased from 39,900 to 34,000.
These changes in application numbers are attributed to the implementation of new restrictions on foreign students bringing their dependents into the UK, which came into effect on January 1. Across three visa categories that were reformed by Home Secretary James Cleverly this year, there was a 24% decrease in applications overall.
James Cleverly commented on the impact of these changes, stating that the escalating numbers were undermining public confidence in the immigration system, straining public services, and suppressing wages. He highlighted the data as evidence of a significant reduction in applications following the introduction of the first of their measures to control migration. However, he emphasized that this is not the end of their efforts to reduce migration, with more measures to be implemented in the coming months.
Interestingly, the data also showed an increase in visa applications by relatives of foreign care workers, who were previously prohibited from bringing dependents into the UK starting from March 11. This increase went from 44,200 in the first quarter of last year to 49,300 this year, although the number of principal applicants decreased from 38,700 to 10,200. This could indicate that foreign care workers already residing in the UK applied to bring additional family members before the new rules took effect.
In another category, skilled workers, there was a slight increase in visa applications. This rise was attributed to new measures that raised the minimum salary requirement for qualifying for a visa, which only came into effect in early April. This suggests that the increase in visa applications was a rush to comply with the new rules before they were enforced.
Overall, across all categories, including skilled workers, care workers, students, and their dependents, there was a 24% decrease in applications in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2023. This indicates that the changes to immigration rules, announced by Mr. Cleverly in December, are likely to affect overall net migration figures. However, the full impact will only be evident once the Office for National Statistics publishes data for the first half of this year in November.
The Home Office estimates that these changes could lead to a decrease in net migration by 300,000 annually, following a record high of 745,000 in 2022. There has been widespread evidence of abuse of the foreign care worker visa, including cases where foreign nationals were granted visas to work in non-existent care homes. Additionally, tens of thousands of foreign nationals entering Britain on time-limited visas have lodged asylum claims in an attempt to remain in the country permanently. Leaked documents for the year to March 2023 showed a record 21,525 claims made by visa-holders, a 154% increase year-on-year, with the total over a decade exceeding 102,000. By claiming asylum, individuals are highly likely to remain in the UK indefinitely due to the significant challenges faced by the Home Office in deporting them, including legal hurdles[1].
