United Kingdom has claimed success in reducing the number of dependants in the country by 80%.
Gatekeepers News reports that the announcement was made by Rishi Sunak, UK Prime Minister on social media on Wednesday. He stated that this significant fall in dependents is evidence that the changes made to the country’s visa system are working.
“The number of students bringing family members and dependants to the UK was too high. This wasn’t fair.
“Our changes are working—student dependant numbers are now down by 80 per cent,” he wrote.
Earlier this year, the UK government had called for a reduction in the number of dependents, such as spouses and children, of overseas students coming to the country.
According to an update issued by the Home Office, during the period of January to March this year, dependents have drastically fallen by almost 80%, amid over 26,000 fewer student visa applications made.
Under the new rules, most international students, except those on research courses, cannot bring their family members along and also cannot switch their visas before completing their course.
The government claims that this measure has prevented misuse of the student visa as a “backdoor” to work in the UK. The Home Office has been cracking down on institutions “selling immigration not education”.
