The UK government has announced it will suspend the issuance of study visas to nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan starting in March, citing widespread abuse of the visa system and a sharp rise in asylum claims from students arriving legally in the country.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood also confirmed that skilled worker visas for Afghan nationals will be halted under the new measures. The Home Office said the decision follows evidence that a significant number of people from the four countries enter the UK on study visas and later apply for asylum.
In a statement, the government said asylum claims from individuals who originally entered the UK legally to study or work have more than tripled between 2021 and 2025. Currently, applicants who arrived on study visas account for 13 percent of all asylum claims in the system.
Mahmood said she was taking an “extraordinary decision” to refuse visas to nationals who are “seeking to exploit the UK’s generosity,” adding that the move is necessary to restore order and control at the borders.
Official figures show that about 95 percent of Afghans who arrived in the UK on study visas since 2021 later applied for asylum. Applications from Myanmar increased sixteenfold, while claims from students from Cameroon and Sudan more than quadrupled over the same period.
The Home Office said many applicants from the four countries cited destitution as part of their asylum claims and noted that the UK is currently supporting around 16,000 people from these nations. The government described the situation as an “unsustainable threat” to the asylum system.
New legislation will be introduced through changes to Immigration Rules on Thursday, 5 March, to formally stop the issuance of the affected visas.
The policy follows earlier warnings issued in November when the government threatened to suspend visas for Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo unless those countries accepted deportations. That move later resulted in the resumption of return flights.
The measures are part of a tougher immigration approach adopted by the prime minister in response to political pressure from the Conservatives and Reform UK. Last week, the government also announced plans to reduce refugee protection periods to 30 months in an effort to curb small boat crossings.
In 2025, 41,472 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats, nearly 5,000 more than the previous year. The Home Office said the UK has resettled the sixth-largest number of refugees referred by the UNHCR globally, demonstrating its commitment to helping those genuinely in need.
Mahmood is expected to deliver a speech this week outlining the government’s “progressive case” for stricter immigration control.
However, concerns remain within the ruling Labour Party. Last month, around 40 Labour MPs warned that proposed changes to permanent settlement rules for migrants already living in the UK could worsen labour shortages, especially in the care sector. They described the retrospective nature of the policy as “un-British” and accused the government of “moving the goalposts.”
