Overseas students apart from postgraduates on research programmes will be banned from bringing dependants to the UK from January 2024 as the Government attempts to curb net migration.
The package, announced ahead of figures on Thursday which are expected to show net migration running at record levels, amounts to the “single biggest tightening measure a government has ever done”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told his Cabinet that around 136,000 visas were granted to dependants in 2022, an eightfold increase from 16,000 in 2019.
“Now is the time for us to make these changes to ensure an impact on net migration as soon as possible. We expect this package to have a tangible impact on net migration.
“Taken together with the easing of temporary factors, we expect net migration to fall to pre-pandemic levels in the medium term.”
The package strips international students of the right to bring dependants unless they are on postgraduate courses currently designated as research programmes and removes the ability for international students to switch out of the student visa route into work before their studies have been completed.
Alongside that there will be better communication around the immigration rules to the higher education sector and to international students, and “improved and targeted enforcement activity”.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman told MPs: “This package strikes the right balance between acting decisively on tackling net migration and protecting the economic benefits that students can bring to the UK.
“Now is the time for us to make these changes to ensure an impact on net migration as soon as possible. We expect this package to have a tangible impact on net migration.
“Taken together with the easing of temporary factors, we expect net migration to fall to pre-pandemic levels in the medium term.”
Ministers are struggling to balance a political commitment to reduce net migration with the economic needs of businesses to find staff to fill vacancies.
Mrs Braverman suggested the dependants of students were likely to make a “more limited contribution to the economy” than migrants coming under the skilled worker route.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in an upbeat assessment of the UK’s economy, suggested that addressing labour shortages could trigger greater growth.
It suggested “fine-tuning the immigration system to alleviate sectoral and skilled labour shortages and enhance labour market flexibility”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We have the flexibility to use our points-based system to ensure that we have the right numbers coming in, that match our needs.
“But you’ve got the commitment from the Prime Minister, that net migration needs to come down.”
Former Bank of England economist Andy Haldane, who sits on the chancellor’s council of economic advisers, told the BBC the UK should be “liberal in our visa policies” to fill skills gaps.
