- Student visa blocked for Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, Sudan.
- Britain will also end work visas for Afghans.
- Britain says the number of legal asylum applications increased by 470% between 2021 and 2025.
Britain said on Tuesday it would block study visas for nationals of four countries and halt work visas for Afghans, using what it called an “emergency brake” to stem rising asylum applications from people entering through legal routes.
Immigration remains one of Britain’s most politically sensitive issues and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has sought to show it is tightening the system as the populist Reform UK party gains ground in the polls.
The Home Office, which is set to block student visas for nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan, said asylum applications from students from those countries had more than quintupled between 2021 and 2025.
It also said that the demand for work visas by Afghans now exceeded the number of visas issued.
“Britain will always give refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused,” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said in a statement.
“That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to deny visas to those nationals who seek to take advantage of our generosity.”
Asylum applications have tripled since 2021
According to the government, asylum applications made after entry on a legal visa have more than tripled since 2021 and made up 39% of the 100,000 people who applied last year.
It said nearly 16,000 nationals from the four listed countries were currently being supported at public expense, including more than 6,000 in hotels, adding to pressure on asylum accommodation costs, which it put at £4 billion ($5.34 billion) a year.
The changes will take effect on March 26, the government said, adding that it intended to create new closed “safe and legal routes” once the asylum system stabilizes.
Britain has given sanctuary to more than 37,000 Afghans through resettlement schemes since 2021 and issued around 190,000 humanitarian visas last year.
It said it had secured cooperation from Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo on returns, after warning in November that their nationals risked losing access to UK visas.
Starmer has previously said Britain’s asylum rules were more lenient compared to parts of Europe and acted as a “pull factor” for people seeking to reach the country.
His government announced plans in November to make refugee status temporary and speed up the removal of people arriving illegally.
