The UK Home Office has announced new visa rules that restrict overseas care workers, from bringing dependent family members to the UK.
This new rule, which takes effect this week, aims to deliver the biggest ever cut in migration, authorities said on Monday.
‘’From today, care workers entering the UK on Health and Care Worker visas can no longer bring dependents. This is part of our plan to deliver the biggest ever cut in migration,’’ the statement read on X.
Home Secretary James Cleverly defended the move, emphasising the need to combat visa abuse and reduce "unsustainable" levels of legal migration, with 120,000 dependents accompanying 100,000 health workers in 2023, according to the home office.
'Visa abuse'
Cleverly also announced, a review of the Graduate Route for international students has been commissioned to ensure its effectiveness.
‘’We must prevent abuse of the graduate route into the UK and protect the integrity of our higher education system. That’s why today (Monday) I’ve commissioned a review of the graduate route for international students by the independent Migration Advisory Committee,’’ Cleverly said.
In January, the UK announced that most international students can no longer bring their family members to the UK as the student visa ban on dependents has come into effect as of 2024 in a bid to curb immigration.
The UK Office for National Statistics said in November 2023 that the annual net migration to the UK rose to 672,000 from 607,000 for the previous year.
In 2022, Nigeria had the highest number of migrants to the United Kingdom (UK) in the year ending June 2022, becoming the third largest nationality group in the country, according to the UK Home Office.
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