Before Parliament broke for the summer, the Home Secretary announced that from January 2024, taught students in the UK will be unable to bring their dependents into the country.

This policy will remove the right to remain from nearly 1 million people, the majority of whom are children. The government made this announcement prior to the revealing of the UK’s immigration statistics, in effect scapegoating international students’ children for the government’s failed immigration policies.

We firmly oppose the inhumane move which will not only be immensely damaging to the UK’s attractiveness to talent from abroad. It will force international students to not see their children for years at a time in order to study. The mental health toll these students will have to pay is high. Removing the right to bring dependents would result in less diverse cohorts, and increasingly stressed and unhappy international students, straining mental health resources.

The policy also disproportionately affects women and reduces the diversity in age and nationality at our Universities. Diversity in higher education encourages collaboration, new perspectives, and cross-cultural competency.

Therefore, we believe that the future of higher education relies on an open system, where students can bring their dependents with them, enhancing their University experience, protecting students fleeing persecution or domestic violence, and never forcing students to choose between education or parenthood.

As students, staff, alumni, and members of the public, we have a message for the Government and Parliament: change your policies, and oppose the visa changes. Families should be able to live overseas together, grow together, to make the world a better place together.