The UK government has introduced an unprecedented “emergency brake” on study visas for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan after a sharp increase in asylum claims from people who initially entered the country legally.
The UK Home Office confirmed that sponsored study visas for citizens of all four countries will be halted, while skilled worker visas for Afghan nationals will also be suspended. The changes will be made through an amendment to the Immigration Rules on 5 March and will take effect from 26 March.
Officials said the move follows a significant rise in asylum applications from individuals who arrived on student and other legal visas before seeking protection. According to government figures, 133,760 people have claimed asylum after entering the UK legally over the past five years. Since 2021, nearly 135,000 people who arrived on student or other visas have lodged asylum claims.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood acknowledged that asylum claims from legal entry routes now account for almost 40 per cent of all applications. In 2025 alone, they represented 39 per cent of the roughly 100,000 people who sought asylum.
Applications from students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan increased by more than 470 per cent between 2021 and 2025. Claims from Myanmar rose sixteen-fold, while those from Cameroon and Sudan increased by over 330 per cent. For Afghan nationals, asylum claims in relation to study visas issued reached 95 per cent in the year ending September 2025. The number of Afghans on work visas applying for asylum is also now higher than the number of such visas being granted.
Although the government says it reduced student asylum claims by 20 per cent in 2025, those who arrived on study visas still account for 13 per cent of current claims in the system.
The financial impact has also been highlighted. Asylum support costs more than £4 billion annually, according to the Home Secretary. Nearly 16,000 nationals from the four affected countries are receiving public support, including more than 6,000 housed in hotels. The government says it has reduced the overall asylum support bill by £1 billion since taking office.
A Home Office spokesperson said the government is “clamping down on visa abuse” to preserve its ability to help those genuinely in need.
The visa restrictions come alongside broader asylum reforms that took effect this week. Under the new framework, refugee status for adults and their children will be reviewed every 30 months, replacing the previous five-year grant of protection that allowed individuals to apply for indefinite leave to remain and eventually citizenship. Refugees from countries considered safe will be expected to return home.
Unaccompanied children will continue to receive five years’ leave while a longer-term policy is developed, and those already in the UK will remain under the previous system. From 2 March, refugee protection will generally be limited to 30 months, a change the government says is designed to reduce incentives for dangerous small boat crossings. The reforms are reportedly modelled on Denmark’s strict asylum system.
Mahmood is expected to introduce further legislation this week and deliver a speech at the Institute for Public Policy Research outlining how the changes reflect British values. She said Britain would continue to offer refuge to those fleeing war and persecution but insisted that the visa system “must not be abused,” adding that she intends to restore order and control at the borders.
The measures follow a tougher diplomatic stance by the Prime Minister to ensure countries cooperate in accepting the return of their nationals. In November, the Home Secretary warned that visas for Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo could be suspended unless those governments agreed to take back migrants without legal status. Agreements were later reached and return flights began.
The government has pledged to expand capped safe and legal routes once the asylum system is stabilised. Since 2021, the UK has resettled more than 37,000 Afghans under two schemes, and 190,000 humanitarian visas were issued in 2025 alone. Between 2010 and 2025, the UK resettled the sixth highest number of refugees referred globally by the UNHCR.
Migration remains a key political issue, with the Reform UK gaining support in recent opinion polls.