The British High Commissioner to Nigeria, RICHARD MONTGOMERY has said, that the number of Nigerians travelling to the United Kingdom via study route had multiplied five times in the last three years.

MONTGOMERY explained that his country’s decision banning international students from bringing family members with them to the UK starting 2024 was to avoid overburdening the country’s housing infrastructure and to control the inflow of migrants.

The meeting comes one month after the new British envoy to Nigeria handed his letter 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 to the UK 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.

The decision has been greeted with mixed reactions from international students, schools, and some British lawmakers, who argued that the regulation would aggravate labour shortages in critical sectors, such as health care and threaten the country’s global standing as a top destination for international talents.