UK suspends student visas for Afghanistan, 3 other countries

Britain will block new visa applications for students and workers from four countries to prevent abuse of the asylum system.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has ordered the suspension of student visa applications from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Sudan and Myanmar after a sharp rise in the number of arrivals from those countries later applying for asylum.

Officials say the move comes after a near sixfold increase since 2021 in students from those nations seeking refugee status after entering the UK legally. Mahmood has also halted skilled worker visas for Afghan nationals, citing what the government described as widespread misuse of the route.

Last year, the number of Afghans who claimed asylum after arriving on work visas reportedly exceeded the number of such visas granted.

According to Home Office data, migrants who initially entered the UK on work, study or visitor visas and then switched to asylum claims made up almost four in 10 of the roughly 100,000 asylum applications filed in the past year. That figure is three times higher than it was five years ago. Over the past five years, 133,760 people have claimed asylum after first arriving through legal visa channels.

Citing a Home Office sources,  The Telegraph reported that the decision should serve as a warning to other governments. “The Home Secretary will not hesitate to impose brakes on other countries,” the source said.

Mahmood defended the crackdown, saying: “Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused.”