LONDON: The British government announced Tuesday that it would stop issuing education visas to nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan and work visas for Afghans as part of its broader clampdown on asylum seekers. The Home Office said there had been a surge in asylum applications by students from those countries, and almost 135,000 asylum seekers in total had entered the UK using legal routes since 2021. &quot;Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused,&quot; said Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood in a statement. &quot;That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity.&quot; The Home Office said the number of asylum applications by students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan had &quot;rocketed&quot; by more than 470% between 2021 and 2025. Migration has become a major issue in British politics, with the hard-right Reform UK surging in opinion polls with its anti-migration stance. Successive governments have struggled to contain small boats crossing the Channel from France, which bring large numbers of undocumented migrants. But the authorities also face pressure to reduce the number of asylum seekers entering on other routes. The Home Office said the government has &quot;reduced student asylum claims by 20% over the course of 2025, further action is needed as those arriving on study visas still make up 13% of all claims in the system&quot;.

The tail fins of British Airways planes are pictured at Heathrow Airport in west London on February 27, 2026. (AFP)

United Kingdom

London says asylum applications from students of the affected countries surged more than 470% between 2021 and 2025, with 135,000 people entering via legal routes since 2021.

UK halts study visas for Afghanistan, three other countries

Web Desk

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ISLAMABAD: The United States plans to expand the number of countries covered under its travel ban to more than 30, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a televised interview on Thursday.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Noem was asked on Fox News&rsquo; &ldquo;The Ingraham Angle&rdquo; whether the administration of US President Donald Trump intended to increase the list to 32 countries. &ldquo;I won&rsquo;t be specific on the number, but it&rsquo;s over 30, and the president is continuing to evaluate countries,&rdquo; she said.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Noem did not say which additional countries may be added. She said the United States must be able to verify travellers&#39; identities before allowing entry.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;If they don&rsquo;t have a stable government there, if they don&rsquo;t have a country that can sustain itself and tell us who those individuals are and help us vet them, why should we allow people from that country to come here to the United States?&rdquo; Noem said.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The announcement follows a June proclamation signed by Trump banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States and placing restrictions on seven others.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The measures apply to both immigrants and non-immigrants, including tourists, students, and business travellers. The administration has said the policy is intended to guard against &ldquo;foreign terrorists&rdquo; and other security threats.

US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem (C) speaks during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on December 2, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP)

Americas

The United States plans to expand the number of countries covered under its travel ban to more than 30, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a televised interview on Thursday.

Articles tagged with "visa"

UK halts study visas for Afghanistan, three other countries

US to increase travel ban to over 30 countries, US Homeland Security secretary says