This is a 146.1 per cent increase from the 27,137 dependants who migrated to the UK from March 2021 to March 2022. In the year ending March 2023, around 73 per cent of visas issued to dependants of students were issued to two nationalities (Indians and Nigerians),” it said. Foreign tertiary institutions and respective countries have continued to benefit from the migration of Nigerian students to oversea institutions. For instance, in 2021, Nigerian students and their dependants in the United Kingdom contributed an estimated £1.9bn to the economy of the UK according to a report by SBM intelligence. Earlier, the UK announced its intention to ban foreign students from coming to the country with dependants from January 2024.

Source: Punch May 25, 2023 20:30 UTC