In the past three years, the number of Nigerians traveling to the UK for education has increased five times, according to Richard Montgomery, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria.
In order to prevent overtaxing the nation’s housing infrastructure and to manage the influx of migrants, Montgomery said his government decided to prohibit overseas students from bringing family members with them to the UK starting in 2024.
“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,” Montgomery told State House correspondents on Wednesday on emerging from a closed-door meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The meeting on Wednesday comes one month after the new British representative in Nigeria presented former President Muhammadu Buhari with his letter of credence on May 18.
International students, including Nigerians, won’t be allowed to bring family members to the UK starting in January 2024, the UK Home Office announced on May 23.
Additionally, it stated that until their studies are through, international students would not be permitted to move from a student visa to a work visa.
International students, educational institutions, and some British lawmakers have reacted differently to the decision. They claim that it will worsen labor shortages in crucial industries like health care and jeopardize the nation’s reputation as a top destination for foreign talent.
But in response to a question from our correspondent, the British High Commissioner gave reasons for the regulation, saying, “I think there are two issues here. The first is, it’s not always possible to find the housing and services to meet all the needs of all our existing student population.”
“And second, reasonable people would accept that we have to manage our visitor numbers and we’ll have to manage our migration in and out of the UK just as the Nigerian government would do.”
Montgomery revealed that “ the number of Nigerian students coming to the UK has increased fivefold in the last three years,” noting that “It is a fantastic success story for our universities and we are really delighted that so many Nigerians are coming to the UK.”
He, however, said, “That issue was not raised in the meeting (with the Vice President) just now. But I would like to put the media debate about it in a broader context.
“Last year (2022), for example, the UK granted three million new visas, of which 325,000 were to Nigerians.
“Nigerian visitors constitute over 10 per cent of the people coming to London and the UK.
“It’s a fantastic success story for our universities. And we are really delighted that so many Nigerians are coming to the UK.”
The Bola Tinubu administration’s present policy approach, which, according to the British envoy, is being warmly embraced by UK investors, was brought up in his conversations with the vice president, he said.
“We know that there are tough times that are going on at the moment, inflation and unemployment.
“The Vice President and I also touched on some of the measures that might be possible to cushion the blow of some of these economic pressures.
“But I think the big issue is that these reforms help put Nigeria on a higher growth path; they will attract more investments and the United Kingdom and the city of London see Nigeria as a big opportunity going forward.
“I will be doing my part to try to boost those, enhance trade and investment,” he noted.
