Decision will come into force on March 26
The British Government announced this Wednesday that it will stop granting study visas to Afghans, Cameroonians, Burmese and Sudanese, and some work visas to Afghans, due to the increase in abuses in the system.
“Our visa system must not be abused. That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to deny visas to citizens who seek to exploit our generosity,” said British Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, quoted in a Home Office statement.
The decision will come into force on March 26, the ministry specified.
The announcement comes as Keir Starmer’s Labor government has promised to reduce legal and illegal immigration, amid the rise of the anti-immigration Reform UK party.
Asylum applications in the UK reached an all-time high in 2024 (108,138 applications) before declining slightly in 2025 (100,625).
London justifies the decision by stating that asylum applications from people who entered the country legally “have more than tripled since 2021”, reaching almost 133,760.
Applications from students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan increased by 470% between 2021 and 2025, according to the Ministry of Interior.
Skilled work visas for Afghans will also now be denied.
According to the Home Office, “drastic measures are needed”, given that financial support for asylum seekers costs British taxpayers “more than 4 billion pounds” (4.6 billion euros) annually.
In November, the Labor government announced a sweeping reform of asylum policy to discourage the arrival of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.
The reform, whose provisions still have to be voted on in Parliament, mainly stipulates that refugees will have to wait 20 years before they can apply for permanent residence.
Since Monday, refugee status in the United Kingdom has been granted for a renewable period of 30 months, instead of the previous five years, to all new applicants.
