United Kingdom (UK) will stop issuing study visas to people from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan starting this month, BBC reported on Wednesday (March 4).

Home secretary Shabana Mahmood announced the decision alongside halting skilled work visas for Afghan nationals, citing widespread visa abuse as the primary reason, according to BBC’s political reporter Jennifer McKiernan.

McKiernan reported that official figures show nationals from these four countries are most likely to make asylum claims after initially entering UK on study visas. Home office data revealed that asylum applications from people who travelled legally to UK for purposes like studying have more than tripled between 2021 to 2025.

According to the report, asylum seekers who originally held study visas now account for 13% of all claims currently in the system. About 95% of Afghans who arrived on study visas subsequently applied for asylum since 2021, McKiernan wrote.

She noted that asylum applications from Myanmar students increased 16-fold while claims from Cameroonian and Sudanese students more than quadrupled. Home office reported that 16 thousand people from these four countries are currently receiving support.

“I am taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity”, Mahmood told BBC. “I will restore order and control to our borders”.

Government spokesperson told BBC that authorities are ‘clamping down on visa abuse so the UK can maintain its ability and proud tradition of helping those genuinely in need’.

Home office cited large numbers of Afghans claiming asylum after work visa expiration as reason for stopping skilled work visas, calling it ‘an unsustainable threat to the UK’s asylum system’, McKiernan wrote.

Mahmood will introduce new legislation through Immigration Rules change on Thursday March (05), McKiernan reported. Move follows November threat to shut UK visas for Angola, Namibia and Democratic Republic of Congo unless governments accepted deportations.

BBC noted that measures reflect Prime Minister’s harder diplomatic approach responding to pressure from political right to reduce immigration. In 2025, total of 41 thousand 472 migrants crossed Channel in small boats, nearly 5 thousand more than previous year, according to the report.

Home secretary will deliver speech this week making ‘progressive case’ for immigration control, McKiernan stated. Last month, approximately 40 Labour MPs raised concerns about proposals changing permanent settlement rights for migrants already residing in UK, describing retrospective approach as ‘un-British’.