By our Reporter
Mr. Richard Montgomery,British High Commissioner to Nigeria, has said his country’s decision banning international students from bringing family members with them starting in 2024 is to control the inflow of migrants and avoid overburdening the country’s housing infrastructure.
Montgomery told State House Correspondents after he emerged from a closed-door meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa, Abuja 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.
The Wednesday’s meeting is coming one month after the new British diplomat to Nigeria handed his letters of Credence to former President Muhammadu Buhari on May 18.
On May 23, the UK Home Office said international students, including Nigerians, would no longer be able to bring family members with them starting January 2024.
It also announced that overseas students would be stopped from switching from the student visa route to a work visa until their studies have been completed.