UK PM Rishi Sunak may restrict foreign students to only top schools: Report

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is reportedly considering restrictions on foreign students enrolling in “low quality” degrees and bringing dependents.

According to a report by Economic Times, quoting the PM’s official spokesman, Sunak is “fully committed” to reducing overall immigration levels, who also attributed the record high to “unprecedented and unique circumstances.”

“We’re considering all options to make sure the immigration system is delivering, and that does include looking at the issue of student dependents and low-quality degrees,” the official added.

Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, has previously expressed concern about foreign students “bringing in family members who can piggyback on their student visa” and “supporting, frankly, substandard courses in inadequate institutions.”

After net immigration to the UK soared to a “breathtaking” record high of 504,000 in the year to June, the UK Prime Minister on Thursday vowed that immigration will decline and suggested that student visas may be subject to greater scrutiny.

According to the nation’s official immigration statistics, Indian students have for the first time surpassed Chinese students as the largest group of foreign students studying in the UK. This is due to a huge 273 per cent increase in visas granted over the past few years.

Indians continue to be the most common nationality granted visas in the skilled worker category, according to UK Home Office data compiled by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), with 56,042 work visas granted in the previous year.

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