- Nigerians studying in the UK and their dependents stand the risk of deportation
- The development comes as the UK said it might deport international students over poor grades
- The UK Migration Committee is reportedly reviewing graduate visas to see if the number of international students in the country could be reviewed
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The United Kingdom plans to deport international students who don’t meet high enough grades set by the country.
A report by the Telegraph said that the Home Secretary, James Cleverly, has asked the UK Migration Advisory Committee to review the graduate visa as part of a five-point plan to reduce net migration by 300,000 from the current level.
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over 98,000 international students obtain visas in two years
According to the report, the UK gave two-year visas to about 98,000 international students to remain in the country after graduation, showing a yearly increase of 42,000 or 74%.
Per the report, Cleverly said it is used as a backdoor route to work in the UK, mainly in low-skilled jobs, or to stay for two more years as there is no requirement to take up employment.
Brian Bell, the committee’s chairman, said obtaining a particular grade in any university course is not required.
Bell said the country wants to review the graduate route to think whether that is sensible or whether there should be a rule allowing them to achieve a particular grade.
He said the committee would also investigate whether there should be further restrictions that would let international students stay in the UK if they went to specific universities or finished certain courses.
He stated that certain types of jobs or activities could also be subject to limitations.
Nigerian students rank high in the UK
Bell said:
“Currently, there’s no restriction on what you can do. If you’ve got the money, you can just sit around and do nothing in the UK for two years. You can also take a minimum wage or highly paid job.”
The report also said that former home secretary Suella Braverman and former immigration minister Robert Jenrick have called on the UK to scrap or overhaul the graduate visa amid concerns it was fuelling immigration and was prone to abuse.
Nigeria has the highest number of international students in the UK, followed by India and Zimbabwe.
UK moves to stop Nigerians, and other care workers from bringing dependents, starts new student visa
Legit.ng reported that the United Kingdom is considering reducing the number of dependents foreign care workers can bring for relocation.
The Telegraph of the UK said the Environmental Secretary, Steve Barclay, stated that the Home Secretary, James Cleverly, was considering a ban on numbers as an alternative to reducing figures.
The Immigration Minister, Robert Jenrick, also proposed that foreign workers could be restricted from bringing their family members to the UK or allowed to come with one relative.
Source: Legit.ng
