The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, has finally reacted to the decision of the UK government to ban international students from bringing family members with them starting in 2024.
According to him, the policy was developed to control the inflow of migrants and avoid overburdening the country’s housing infrastructure.
Politics Nigeria reports that Montgomery disclosed this to the State House Correspondents after he emerged from a closed-door meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said:
“Many more students are trying to bring their dependents with them… but it’s not always possible to find the housing and services to meet all the needs of all our existing student population…we’ll have to manage our migration in and out of the UK.”
Recall that the UK Home Office recently said that international students, including Nigerians, would no longer be able to bring family members with them starting January 2024.
It also announced that overseas students would be stopped from switching from the student visa route to a work visa once their studies have been completed.
The decision has been greeted with mixed reactions from international students, schools, and some British lawmakers.
