Vantage | Why ban on families of foreign students may hurt UK more than it helps

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was in a celebratory mood on Monday. He felt like boasting about a new scheme designed to cut immigration to the UK.

From today, the majority of foreign university students cannot bring family members to the UK.

In 2024, we’re already delivering for the British people. https://t.co/m0TcSaxK9V

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) January 1, 2024

Sunak was talking about the new immigration rules that went into effect on Monday. Now, a foreign student can no longer get a visa for their dependent family members. This targets foreigners who are married or have kids but want to study in the UK. The students themselves enter the UK after going through a college admission process. Then they used to apply for a visa to bring their dependents, but under the new rules, they won’t be able to do so. The British Home Minister, James Cleverly, said that students bringing over their dependents was an “unreasonable practice.” The immigration minister said it was “contributing to unsustainable levels of migration.” The UK Home Office called the new immigration rules “tough but fair.”

We are fully committed to seeing a decisive cut in migration.

From today, new overseas students will no longer be able to bring family members to the UK.

Postgraduate research or government-funded scholarships students will be exempt. pic.twitter.com/QpwEf9BCfj

— Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) January 1, 2024

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There were about 639,000 student visas issued between October 2022 and September 2023. Of these, about 153,000 were not for the students — they were for their partners or children. That’s almost 24 percent. The numbers have spiked over the past few years. In 2019, the proportion of dependents used to be about 5 percent. This is why the UK government says bringing dependents is not unsustainable. The numbers support their argument. However, we must look at the other side. The UK government has been encouraging students to come to the country. In 2019, it had issued 269,000 student visas, and now the number has almost doubled. But why would anyone want foreign students? That is because they pay much more. Foreign students effectively subsidise education for locals. Their paying more means locals pay less. A foreign student’s dependents may not pay for college. But they pay the government for their visas. So foreign students and their families contribute to the economy. If the students eventually get jobs, they add skilled talent to a country’s labour pool. So if this is the case,why is the UK targeting foreign students? The simple answer is — the numbers.

Migration to the UK has been going up for years. Both legal and illegal. Sunak’s conservative party prides itself on being anti-immigrant. It is a sales pitch for Tory voters. However, the numbers look bad. In 2022, net immigration was 745,000. That’s the highest it has ever been, and it makes the Tories look bad. So reducing a large chunk of migrants was a priority. By any means necessary. The dependents of foreign students were just an easy target. It is a political gimmick, but it can lead to real problems. If foreign students stop going to the UK, the colleges will suffer. They will get more expensive, and locals will have to foot the bill. Sunak’s new immigration policy is a short-term plan. Something to throw at his voter base before the next election. But it may backfire because foreign students now might look at other countries — ones that aren’t keen on tearing apart families for political gain. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.