The UK government has announced it will stop issuing study visas to nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan starting in March 2026.
The UK government has announced it will stop issuing study visas to nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan starting in March 2026.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood enacted this “emergency brake” after Home Office data revealed that asylum applications from students of these four countries surged by over 470% between 2021 and 2025.
The new policy, which also includes a suspension of skilled worker visas for Afghan nationals, will be officially introduced through an immigration rules change on March 5 and is set to come into full force on March 26, 2026.
The government justifies this unprecedented move as a necessary step to prevent the “systematic exploitation” of legal migration routes as a backdoor into the asylum system.
According to official figures from the Home Office, nearly 135,000 people have entered the UK on legal visas before lodging asylum claims since 2021, with 39% of all asylum claimants in 2025 arriving through these legal channels.
The Home Secretary emphasised that while the UK remains committed to helping those in genuine need, the visa system must not be abused by those seeking to exploit the country’s generosity.
This restriction is part of a broader overhaul of the UK’s asylum and immigration policies aimed at reducing overall migration numbers amid rising political pressure.
Other planned measures include a new rule where refugee status will be reviewed every 30 months, effectively halving the previous five-year protection period.
While the government plans to eventually establish capped “safe and legal routes” for genuine refugees, critics and rights groups argue that these new bans may unfairly restrict access to education for students from conflict-affected regions and potentially drive more people toward irregular methods of entry, such as small boat crossings.
COMMENTS