The UK government has placed an emergency halt on visas for nationals from four countries, as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood accused them of abusing Britain’s generosity to claim asylum.
This implies that study visas for nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan have been halted, as have work visas for Afghans.
The government says that an increasing number of individuals from these nations are exploiting legal migration methods as a backdoor to apply for asylum in the UK, thus it has stopped the visa routes.
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Since this is the first time such visa limits have been put into place, the Home Office called the suspension of visa claims a “unprecedented” move.
Mahmood said: “Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused.
“That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity.
“I will restore order and control to our borders.”
According to Home Office figures, some 39 per cent of the 100,000 who claimed asylum in 2025 did so after arriving in the UK through a legal migration route, like a study visa.
About 39% of the 100,000 people who applied for asylum in 2025 did so after entering the country legally, such as through a student visa, according to data from the Home Office.
According to the Home Office, the largest portion of an increase between 2021 and September 2025 was made up of asylum petitions from students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood
On Thursday, a modification to immigration regulations will formally implement the visa restriction.
In the past, the Home Secretary has threatened to cancel all UK visas for Angola, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in November unless their governments agreed to repatriate unlawful migrants.
As a result, cooperation agreements were reached with all three nations, and deportation aircraft were used to return illegal migrants.
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Mahmood is expected to lay out measures to toughen up the UK asylum system in a speech on Thursday.
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