The entry ban on students from the four countries comes amid a rise in anti-immigration sentiment in the UK.
Published March 4, 2026
The UK says it will end study visas for students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan, and work visas for Afghans, amid a rise in anti-immigration sentiment in the country.
The UK Home Office said in a statement on Tuesday that “an ’emergency brake’ has been imposed on visas for nationals of four countries for the first time,” following a rise in asylum claims from students on study visas.
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The Home Office said the number of asylum applications from students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan had “skyrocketed” by more than 470 percent between 2021 and 2025.
“Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused,” said Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
“That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to deny visas to those nationals who seek to exploit our generosity,” Mahmood said.
Migration has become a major issue in UK politics, with the far-right Reform UK party gaining popularity in opinion polls with its anti-immigration stance.
In a bid to calm hardening public sentiment over migration and curb the rise of the UK’s Reform party, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government has tightened the asylum process and accelerated deportations of those arriving illegally.
The UK Press Association (PA) said the visa ban will be officially introduced through a change to immigration rules on Thursday, and Home Secretary Mahmood is expected to set out a tougher asylum process in a speech on the same day.
According to the PA, in plans already outlined by the government, new rules are expected to come into force that will see asylum seekers in the UK face a review of their refugee status every 30 months, in what is seen as a way of making the country less attractive to asylum seekers.
The Home Office said that although the government has “reduced student asylum applications by 20 per cent over the course of 2025, further action is needed as those arriving on study visas still account for 13 per cent of all applications in the system”.
