‘Japa’: Nigerian migrants bring the most relatives to UK – British govt says as it considers tougher visa rules

By Adeleye Kunle

The British government is considering tightening the rules on how many relatives, immigrants can bring into the country.

In a recent research by the UK Homie office, it was discovered that Nigerians had the highest number of dependants in the country compared to other groups of migrants.

According to the Times UK, UK Home Secretary, Suella Braverman said the government was considering tightening the rules on dependants after Home Office immigration figures showed a “surprising inconsistency” across different nationalities coming to the UK to work and study.

Based on the Home Office report, Nigerians accounted for 40% of all dependants who accompanied foreign students in the 12 months to June 2022 – despite Nigerian students making up just 7% of all foreign students in that period.

About 34,000 Nigerians were given study visas in the UK, bringing with them a total of 31,898 dependants. A similar ratio was recorded for work visas, with 8,972 Nigerians issued with one in the 12 months to June bringing with them 8,576 dependants.

While 114,837 Chinese students who came to the UK last year brought with them a total of 401 dependants – and 93,049 Indian students came to Britain with 24,916 dependants, the figures show.