LONDON – The changes to the visa rules by the United Kingdom’s government led by former premier Rishi Sunak are bearing results in the form of fewer visa applicants.
Fresh statistics released by the Home Office on Thursday confirm that the number of Student Visa applications recorded a drop, a development which might not bode well for the universities in future.
The official data implies that applications from main applicants from January to July 2024 (156,800) were 16% lower than January to July 2023.
Though the authorities have stated that the monthly number of Sponsored study visa applications from main applicants tends to peak between July and September before the start of the academic year and it will be necessary to see this peak in student applications in the Autumn before the final assessment.
Nonetheless, the figures are somewhat frightening for academia with many experts suggesting that the smaller number of applicants would dent the universities that rely on fees from international students.
Moreover, there were 13,100 applications from dependants of students between January and July 2024, 81% fewer than from January to July 2023.
The sharp drop followed the rule changes that came into effect in January 2024 which prevent students from bringing dependants, apart from those studying postgraduate research courses or courses with government-funded scholarships.
The number of applicants, nosediving for the United Kingdom, is reflected for Health and Care Worker Visa applicants also.
For this visa category, there were 10,800 applications between April and July 2024, following the policy changes affecting social care workers and their family members – an 81% decrease compared to the same 4 months in 2023.
As far as the dependents are concerned, there has been a sharp decline. Applications for dependants on the Health and Care Worker route peaked at 23,300 in August 2023; however, applications for dependants have decreased since December 2023, nosediving to 5,100 in July 2024.
