UK govt considers tougher visa rules for Nigerians

The United Kingdom is considering tightening the rules on how many relatives migrants can bring into the country.

Nigeria was mentioned after it was discovered that it has the highest number of dependents compared to other groups of migrants.

According to the Times UK, UK Home Secretary, Suella Braverman said the government was considering tightening the rules on dependents after Home Office immigration figures showed a “surprising inconsistency” across different nationalities coming to the UK to work and study.

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Based on the Home Office report, Nigerians accounted for 40% of all dependents who accompanied foreign students in the 12 months to June 2022- despite Nigerian students making up just 7% of all foreign students in that period.

Some 34,000 Nigerians were given study visas in the UK, bringing with them a total of 31,898 dependents. A similar ratio was recorded for work visas, with 8,972 Nigerians issued with one in the 12 months to June bringing with them 8,576 dependents.

By comparison, 114,837 Chinese students who came to the UK last year brought with them a total of 401 dependents – while 93,049 Indian students came to Britain with 24,916 dependents, the figures show.