As of 26 March, the Home Office has enforced a “student visa brake”, meaning that student visa applications made by nationals of Sudan, Myanmar, Cameroon and Afghanistan will be automatically refused.
The change to Immigration Law means that students from these countries who already held offers from UK universities will no longer be able to come to the country.
Speaking with a Sudanese offer holder for the University of Manchester, The Mancunion was told that the University of Manchester had emailed them informing them that their offer has been withdrawn in light of recent changes to UK immigration policy.
In response, the University’s Sudanese Society has joined a national effort to “Restore Sudanese study visas”, asking students to email their local MPs via the campaign’s website. The website also states that a letter, signed by over 1,700 academics, researchers and professionals, has been sent to the Prime Minister and senior cabinet officers in an effort to raise concerns about the policy change.
A government press release on 4 March by the Home Office justified the ban by claiming that asylum seekers entering the country on student visas is part of “widespread visa abuse”.
The Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said: “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.”
The Home Office did not specifically clarify how applying for asylum after having entered the country on a student visa constitutes “visa abuse.”
The 1951 Refugee Convention, which the UK remains obligated to follow, protects the right of refugees to claim asylum regardless of illegal entry to the country.
In the press release, the Home Office justified their decision by citing data from between 2021 and 2025: 95% of Afghan student visa holders claimed asylum; asylum applications by students from Myanmar increased sixteen fold; and asylum claims by students from Sudan and Cameroon rose to more than 330% of the 2021 level.
The publication of these figures faced widespread criticism and have been called “misleading” by Russell Group.
The Financial Times reported that of the 1,480 Sudanese nationals who have been granted student visas since 2021, only 380 claimed asylum.
The Sudanese Society has reported similar figures, saying, “the Home Office’s own figures show that approximately 23% of Sudanese student visa holders applied for asylum between 2020-2024.”
The Society added in a post on Instagram: “The blanket ban punishes genuine scholars, Chevening candidates, and postgraduate researchers whose only connection to the asylum system is their nationality.”
According to data released by the Home Office, a total of 64 asylum claims were made by Myanmar nationals between January 2018 and December 2020. In 2025, a total number of 879 asylum claims were made by Myanmar nationals, though the data does not explicitly show what proportion of these entered on a student visa.
Asylum claims made by migrants who entered the UK on a student visa have increased from 2,700 in 2021 to 12,600 in 2025. However, total asylum claims have also increased from the 37,600 and 58,00, recorded in 2020 and 2021 respectively to over 100,000 in 2025.
Over the same time period, nearly 3.6 million Afghans left the country from 2021-2022 after the Taliban, who banned women from Afghan universities in 2022, came to power; the Junta overthrew Myanmar’s government in 2021 resulting in the displacement of millions; and war in Sudan, that started in 2023, has forced 14 million people to flee according to the UN.
When contacted on this issue, a University of Manchester spokesperson said:
“We recognise the uncertainty and distress caused to some applicants by the introduction of this policy, particularly given its broad application and we share concerns about the impact on genuine scholars. We contacted all affected, or potentially affected, applicants as early as possible to explain the changes, outline next steps, and provide further guidance via our admissions webpage.
“While we must comply with UK Government sponsorship requirements, we have taken every possible step to support those affected, including ensuring our admissions and recruitment teams are fully briefed and available to advise and continuing to provide tailored guidance through our specialist Student Immigration Team for current students. We have worked hard to support applicants through what has been a short notice change during the admissions cycle.”
The Home Office declined to comment when contacted by The Mancunion.
