Table Of Contents:
- Government justification
- Key figures presented by the Home Office
- Related policy changes
- Impact on students from these 4 countries and workers
- Summary
The UK continues to take measures to curb net inward immigration and tighten visa, settlement, and asylum policies in line with its White Paper released on 12 May 2025. In continuation of this, on 4 March 2026, the UK Home Office has announced an emergency brake on UK visas for the first time for the nationals of four countries: Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan saying that the measure was needed because many migrants including people from these 4 countries were using legal immigration routes as a “backdoor” to enter the UK and later on claim asylum here.
As per the policy announcement, the UK will end endorsed Student visas for nationals from all four countries and UK Work visas for Afghan nationals.
Government justification
The UK government is clamping down on its visas abuse like this so it can maintain its ability and proud tradition of helping people who genuinely need visas.
The UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood justified the decision by saying “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.”
Key figures presented by the Home Office
The government cited several critical factors that led it to announce this policy for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan. Some key figures cited by the Home Office include the following:
• Asylum claims from people who entered on legal visas have skyrocketed since 2021.
• In 2025, about 39% of the 100,000 asylum seekers had first entered the UK through legal routes such as UK study or work visas.
• Asylum applications from students in the UK who are from these four countries increased more than fivefold (over 470%) between 2021 and 2025.
• The number of Afghans with UK work visas claiming asylum is now outstripping the number of visas issued, and asylum support is currently costing the UK government in excess of £4 billion every year – with almost 16,000 people from these 4 countries currently supported at public expense, including more than 6,000 in hotels.
Related policy changes
The visa brake forms part of wider asylum reforms, including:
• From 2 March 2026, protection for refugees will be halved to 30 months, and it will be reviewed every 30 months.
• The UK will tighten the immigration rules, and
• The government will introduce new safe and legal migration routes with a cap, as an alternative to dangerous small boat crossings once the asylum system stabilises.
• Some rejected asylum claimants may get financial incentives to return home.
• The time required to obtain permanent settlement in the UK could increase significantly.
Impact on students from these 4 countries and workers from Afghanistan who are already in the UK
The changes announced on 4 March 2026 will come into force on 26 March 2026 and will primarily apply to new Student and Work visa applications, meaning people from these 4 countries already in the UK with valid visas will generally not be affected.
People from these countries who are already studying in the UK will be able to continue their studies until their visa expires, and they will not be removed immediately. However, their applications for their current visa extensions or a fresh visa may be blocked.
Summary
The UK introduced an unprecedented visa brake for nationals of 4 countries, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan, to curb the rising number of asylum claims from people entering the country on student or work visas and later seeking asylum.
The government also warned that other countries may also be imposed with the same visa brake if it finds similar abuse patterns appearing in the future.