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The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, has shed more light on his country's decision to ban Nigerian and other foreign students from bringing family members with them to the United Kingdom.
According to Montgomery, the measure was introduced to control the influx of migrants into the country and prevent overburdening the country’s housing infrastructure.
The British High Commissioner gave the explanation while speaking to State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Wednesday, June 21, 2023.
The meeting with the Vice President comes one month after the British envoy handed his letters of Credence to former President Muhammadu Buhari on May 18.
The UK Home Office announced on May 23, 2023, that international students, including Nigerians, would no longer be eligible to bring their family members with them starting from 2024.
It also added that foreign students would be prevented from switching the student visa route to a work visa until their studies have been completed.
The decision was received with mixed reactions by international students while some Nigerians suggested that the new policy was a targeted approach.
But, clarifying the UK decision, Montgomery explained that “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.
“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 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,” he added.
The British diplomat disclosed that, while Nigerian visitors make up 10 per cent of those granted UK visas annually, Nigerian students coming to the UK had increased fivefold in the last three years.
He 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.”