The United Kingdom has slammed restrictions on student visa routes in a bid to cut net migration, a statement on Tuesday announced.

The policy restricts students from Nigeria and other countries from bringing family members on all but postgraduate research routes.

The government also banned people from using a student visa as a backdoor route to work in the UK, noting that net migration was over 500,000 from June 2021 to June 2022.

It reaffirmed its commitment to the International Education Strategy which supports the economy through the contribution students can bring to the UK.

The government has also made clear that the terms of the graduate route remain unchanged, announcing the new reforms affecting students starting from January 2023.

The UK promised to work with the higher education sector to explore alternative options to ensure the brightest and best students can continue to bring dependents.

Furthermore, to prevent misuse of the visa system, students will be stopped from switching from the student visa route to work routes until their studies have been completed.