The Japa class of 2023-2024 does not know what the Lord did for them because the 2025 aspirants are going through it. In what can only be described as village people machinations, the UK government has announced new immigration rules that will make relocating and staying in the European country harder than it already is.
What’s going on?
The real question is “what’s not going on?” On Monday, May 12, the UK government released an immigration white paper detailing its new laws and focus in that area. The 82-page document (yes, 82 whole pages) titled Restoring Control over the Immigration System contains anything but good news for hundreds of Nigerians looking to move to the European country anytime soon. We’ll break down some of the affected areas below:
Graduate route visa
From now on, postgraduate students in the UK will be required to leave the country 18 months after their studies, instead of two years, which had been the norm.
If this first rule has you screaming “God abeg,” you’ll hate to know there’s more: The UK also wants to “explore introducing a levy on higher education provider income from international students,” and it doesn’t stop there. Universities that sponsor international students are also on the hot seat — they will now be expected to meet some compliance requirements, which include a 95% course enrolment and 90% course completion rate, a new rating system (Red-Amber-Green) for publicly accessible grading of universities on compliance level. Schools whose scores are below par will either have their sponsorship numbers reduced, be made to follow through with an intervention plan, or be stopped from sponsoring international students into the UK.
Permanent residency and citizenship
The new immigration laws will make it much more difficult for foreigners to transition to permanent residency and gain citizenship. Instead of the usual five years, migrants will now be required to spend a minimum of ten years in the country to gain citizenship and permanent residency status.
Social Care Visa
If you or your relatives ever had plans to japa through the Social Care Visa, you might have to kiss that plan goodbye because the UK government will be shutting down that route. If you used this route and are currently inside the UK, you can enjoy a small win — the UK government will establish a transition period until 2028, which will “permit visa extensions and in-country switching for those already in the country with working rights.” It’s a small win, but don’t celebrate just yet because it will be kept under review.
Skilled workers
The reforms in this area are mostly tabled under the introduction of a Temporary Shortage List that will impose time-limited access to the Point-Based Immigration System. They will affect occupations with an RQF 3-5 (below degree level) and a couple of other things.
Other areas which will undergo reforms include family migration, humanitarian response, and global talent.
The UK government says it is putting all these reforms in place for the sole purpose of reducing Net Migration, which was at 906,000 and 728,000 in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The UK basically wants everybody to stay in their countries, and it couldn’t have made it any clearer than it did in the long document just issued. If you’ve ever mumbled “Nigeria must work” before, now is the time to scream it at the top of your voice because it really must.
