Since the UK government launched the BNO "5+1" scheme in 2021, the number of people immigrating to the UK has continued to rise. BNO passport holders can easily apply for a visa and bring their adult children born after 1997 and spouses to the UK. However, if you do not have a BNO passport, is it possible to study in the UK and immigrate together? With the recent announcement by the UK government to reduce immigration, what impact will it have on international students? In this article, we will analyse the situation in detail.
Source: Unsplash
Is having a BNO passport necessary for studying in the UK as an immigrant? A guide to the immigration process for education
If you and your parents do not have a BNO passport, is it still possible to choose to study in the UK as an immigrant? In fact, if you do not have a BNO passport, DSE graduates can still apply for a study visa and enrol in a local university in the UK. After completing a bachelor's degree or above, you will be eligible to apply for a Post-Study Work Visa. If you find an employer in the UK who is allowed by the UK government to hire skilled workers, you can switch to a UK Skilled Worker Visa with the employer's guarantee. As long as you work and reside continuously in the UK for five years, and your annual salary reaches £25,600 or meets other designated requirements, you can apply for Permanent Residency, which then allows you to apply for settlement. Currently, there are over 20,000 companies in the UK that can guarantee UK Skilled Worker Visas, and you can check whether a company is eligible to sponsor UK Skilled Worker Visas on the UK government website.
For those without BNO passports, studying in the UK as an immigrant is still a viable option, especially for families who are unable to immigrate together. Students can obtain a British passport (BC) through studying in the UK as an immigrant, which provides flexibility to continue living and working in the UK or to consider returning to their home country to reunite with family.
Source: University of the Arts London
The impact of the UK government's plan to reduce legal immigration on international students
According to the data released by the UK National Statistics Office (ONS), the net migration population surged to 504,000 between June 2021 and June 2022. In response to this, the UK government announced on May 23, 2023, that it will cancel the right of some international students to bring their families to the UK as one of the measures to reduce the net migration population. Under this measure, international students of courses other than postgraduate research programs cannot bring their families to the UK. In addition, the UK government will prohibit international students from dropping out of school and entering the job market before completing their studies to prevent visa abuse.
For now, wives and children of students who are studying a postgraduate degree are eligible to apply for dependant visas. However, this only applies to those who enrolled to courses that starts before January 2024. From January 2024, only PhD or research-based higher degree students’ wives and childern are eligible to apply for dependant visas. This measure will help significantly reduce the number of legal immigrants to the UK to prevent people from exploiting student visas to find jobs in the UK.
In addition, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is also considering restricting international students from studying "low-quality" courses in the UK to reduce the number of immigrants by raising the threshold for studying abroad. There are currently no more details on the decision to cancel "low-quality" courses, but students who are interested in studying abroad should be prepared for this.
Tips for Foreign Job Seekers: Use Different Websites to Make Employers Notice You
Foreign job seekers face higher difficulties in finding jobs in the UK. After graduation, international students can try to use various human resources websites such as Indeed, Totaljobs, Jobsite, Reed, etc., to update their resumes on the web and apply for jobs they are interested in. In addition to these formal websites, LinkedIn, which is slightly more informal but can showcase the personality of job seekers, is also a page that employers pay attention to. Job seekers are recommended to update their accounts and complete their resumes on the website to make it easier for employers to get to know them.
Source: Unsplash
For those who are interested in studying abroad in the UK but do not have a BNO passport, it is best to pay attention to the latest announcements from the UK government when considering applying for a visa and fully understand the local policies before making a decision. If you want to learn more about studying abroad in the UK, please feel free to contact us.
