The number of Nigerians granted sponsored study or student visas by the United Kingdom increased by over eightfold in four years, according to a new official immigration data.
The data from the British government show that the number rose by 768.7 percent to 59,053 in 2022 from 6,798 in 2019.
“Of the top five nationalities granted sponsored study visas, Bangladeshi nationals saw the largest percentage increase in grants, increasing from 1,745 to 15,277, closely followed by Nigerian nationals whose number increased from 6,798 to 59, 053,” the British government said on its website on Thursday.
The information on its website also highlighted that Africa’s most populous nation recorded the highest number of dependants (60,923) of sponsored study visa holders in 2022, increasing from 1,586 in 2019. India had the second highest number of dependants, increasing from 3,135 to 38,990. “There were almost 120,000 dependant visas granted to the top five nationalities (Nigeria, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) in 2022,” it said.
Experts said apart from Nigeria’s high intellectual capabilities, other reasons why the UK is scouting for Nigerians are cheap labour, large working population, high diaspora remittances and the withdrawal of the UK from the European Union.
“With rising living costs, a shrinking labour force, escalating pension and health costs, the UK needs to constantly attract new immigrants into the country in order to be able to keep key aspects of its economy, particularly in the healthcare sector,” Ikemesit Effiong, head of research at SBM Intelligence, said.
Adewale Adetona, co-founder at Menopays, said the UK, just like other developed and future-looking countries like the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Canada and the US, has become a global talent magnet.
“They have realised that the future is here and the only way to harness it is to attract global talents to further develop their economy, especially as the world is just recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.
The UK, one of the most advanced economies in the world and top places to study in, operates an immigration system underpinned by the principle of visa sponsorship.
The sponsor for immigration purposes is the educational institution where the student will study and the visa is issued for a particular course at the institution.
In 2019, the UK updated its International Education Strategy. The update reaffirmed the government’s goals of increasing the value of its education exports to £35 billion ($48 billion) and to hosting at least 600,000 international students per year by 2030.
The strategy commits to previously established goals for foreign enrolment growth which have been replaced by new immigration routes and work opportunities for foreign students. It intends to create clearer pathways to immigration.
Some of the ways in which this growth is to be achieved is the Graduate route, which was launched in July 2021. The route will allow eligible students to stay in the UK to work, or look for work, for two years (three years if studying at PhD level) after they have completed a degree in the UK.
Others are high potential individual visas, global talent visas and scale-up visas.
The demand or need to immigrate for Nigerians is not too hard to diagnose as high poverty, unemployment, poor human capital development, insecurity and poor education are some of the many reasons its young population are bailing out of the country to greener pastures.
“An average Nigerian is more concerned about not coming back home than the academics itself. Ninety percent of them are using academics as a way to ‘never return’ (japa) home or at least establish them overseas,” said Oludayo Sokunbi, chief executive officer at Japaconsults.
Apart from student visas, the immigration data also revealed that Nigeria’s work visas saw a surge of 575 percent to 13,449 last year from 1,993 in 2019, and the visas granted to dependants of work visa holders also rose by 787 percent to 18,969 in 2022.
A recent report by SBM Intelligence said Nigerian students and their dependents contributed an estimated sum of £1.93 billion to the UK in 2021.
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A breakdown of the total £1.93 billion shows that the students spent £680.6 million on school fees followed by £408.4 million for rent, £151.3 million for national insurance, £54.4 million for tax of working spouse, £41.8 million for National Health Service (NHS) and £41.7 million for visa fees.
“Apart from school fees paid by Nigerian immigrants to British schools, the UK gains from visa fees, NHS payments, rent, economic productivity, income taxes (in the instances where the students work), etc.,” it said.
BusinessDay reported last month that Suella Braverman, UK’s home secretary, was pushing for a visa change that would force foreign students out of the country, if they don’t get a skilled job six months after graduating.
According to The Daily Mail, a British news website, Braverman has committed to cut immigration and substantially reduce the number of unskilled foreign workers coming to Britain, from 239,000 to the tens of thousands.
It reported that she wanted to reduce the numbers of international students who can apply for a graduate post-study work visa, which allows any student who has passed their degree to remain and work in the UK for at least two years.
