UK halts study visas for four countries over rising asylum claims

Britain pauses study visas for Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan after a rise in asylum claims from migrants entering through legal routes

The UK government on Tuesday imposed an emergency brake on visas for the first time on nationals from four countries, with Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood accusing some applicants of using legal routes to later claim asylum.

 

Study visas for nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan have been halted. Work visas for Afghan nationals have also been suspended.

 

The government said the move follows a rise in asylum claims from people who had first entered Britain through legal migration routes such as student visas.

 

Mahmood said on Tuesday: “Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused.

 

“That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity. I will restore order and control to our borders.”

 

Why the UK has paused visas for four nationalities

 

According to figures from the UK Home Office, 39 per cent of the 100,000 people who claimed asylum in 2025 had first arrived in the country through a legal migration route such as a study visa.

 

Officials said asylum applications from students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan formed a large share of the increase recorded between 2021 and September 2025.

 

The visa ban will be introduced through a change to immigration rules on Thursday.

 

Previous threats of visa restrictions

 

Mahmood had earlier warned that similar action could be taken against Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo in November unless their governments agreed to take back their nationals from the UK.

 

Following the warning, the UK reached cooperation agreements with the three countries and began returning people through deportation flights.

 

Further asylum changes expected

 

Mahmood is also expected to announce further measures to tighten the UK asylum system in a speech on Thursday.

 

Earlier this week she said every refugee granted protection in the UK would now receive temporary status lasting 30 months.

 

Under the new approach, people whose home countries are later judged safe by the UK government will be expected to return.

 

Political pressure on the government

 

The announcement came despite calls from some Labour MPs, peers and affiliated unions for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government to adopt more progressive policies.

 

Those calls followed Labour finishing third in last week’s Gorton and Denton by-election.