The Home Office has announced it will stop issuing student visas to nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan, and will also suspend skilled work visas for people from Afghanistan.
The department said the restrictions are intended to curb asylum claims made after people enter the UK on legal visas. The Home Office said an ’emergency brake’ has been imposed for the first time on nationals from the four countries following a surge in asylum claims from legal routes.
Since 2021, almost 135,000 people entered the UK on visas and later lodged asylum claims, the department added. It said student-related asylum claims fell by 20% in 2025, but arrivals on study visas still account for around 13% of asylum applications. Applications by students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Sudan and Myanmar rose by more than 470% between 2021 and 2025, the Home Office said.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she was ‘taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity.’
The move follows wider asylum changes that came into force a day earlier. Under the new rules, refugee status for adults and their accompanying children will be reviewed every 30 months, and refugees from countries judged to be safe will be expected to return home. Previously, people granted refugee status received five years’ leave, after which they could apply for indefinite leave to remain and a path to citizenship. Unaccompanied children will continue to receive five years’ leave while a long-term policy for that group is considered. Asylum seekers already in the UK will continue to be assessed under the previous rules, it is understood.
Ministers say the policy is modelled on Denmark’s approach, where refugee status is reviewed every two years. Migration has become a prominent issue in UK politics, and the hard-right Reform UK has gained ground in opinion polls campaigning on a tougher stance on migration.
Edited by Zac Crellin