The United Kingdom says it will end study visas for students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan, and work visas for Afghans, amid a rise in anti-immigration sentiment in the country.
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The UK Home Office said in a statement on Tuesday that “an ’emergency brake’ on visas has been imposed for the first time on nationals from four countries”, following a surge in asylum claims by students on study visas.
The Home Office said the number of asylum applications by students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan had “rocketed” by more than 470 percent between 2021 and 2025.
“Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused,” Secretary of State for the Home Department Shabana Mahmood said.
“That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity,” Mahmood said.
Migration has become a major issue in UK politics with the hard-right Reform UK surging in opinion polls with its anti-immigration stance.
In a bid to assuage public sentiment, which has hardened on migration and stem the rise of the Reform UK party, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has tightened the asylum process and sped up the deportations of those who arrive illegally.
The UK’s Press Association (PA) said the visa ban will be officially introduced via an immigration rules change on Thursday, and Home Secretary Mahmood is expected to lay out a tougher asylum process in a speech on the same day.
According to the PA, in plans already flagged by the government, new rules are expected to come into force that will see asylum seekers in the UK face a review of their refugee status every 30 months, in what is seen as a way to make the country less attractive for those seeking asylum.
The Home Office said that although the government has “reduced student asylum claims by 20 percent over the course of 2025, further action is needed as those arriving on study visas still make up 13 percent of all claims in the system”.
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