Richard Montgomery, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, stated that his government made the decision to forbid overseas students from bringing family members with them beginning in 2024 in order to manage the influx of migrants and prevent the country’s housing facilities from becoming overburdened.
“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 after he emerged from a closed-door meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The encounter on Wednesday takes place one month after the new British envoy in Nigeria presented former President Muhammadu Buhari with his letters of credence on May 18.
International students, including Nigerians, won’t be allowed to bring family members with them 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, arguing that it will worsen labor shortages in crucial industries like healthcare and jeopardize the nation’s standing as a top location for attracting foreign talent.
However, the British High Commissioner explained the regulation’s justifications in answer to a query from our correspondent, adding, “I think there are two difficulties here. The first is that not all of the needs of our current student population can be met by housing and services.
“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,” he added.
Montgomery revealed that Nigerian students coming to the UK had increased fivefold in the last three years, even as they make up 10 per cent of those granted UK visas annually.
“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,” he said.
The Bola Tinubu administration’s present policy direction, which, according to the British High Commissioner, is being warmly embraced by UK investors, was brought up in his conversations with the Vice President, according to the British High Commissioner.
“As I discussed with His Excellency, the big economic decisions being taken by this government are really important and are being noticed around the world: the removal of subsidy, the exchange rate reform, all of that create a much better investment environment.
“I was in London last week; I was briefing my ministers, but I was also talking to British business in finance, banking and investment sectors. They are all responding very positively to these first decisions,” Montgomery stated.
The discussions also featured areas of assistance by the British government to cushion the effects of the discontinuance of petroleum subsidy, which has spelled “tough times” for Nigerians.
“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.
