UK Imposes Visa Restrictions on Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan
London: The United Kingdom has announced new restrictions on study visas for citizens of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan, while suspending the work visa program for Afghan nationals.
According to Reuters, the measures are part of an “emergency brake” to manage the rising number of asylum applications from these countries. The UK Home Office reported that between 2021 and 2025, asylum requests from these four countries increased fivefold, and the number of Afghan work visa holders seeking asylum exceeded the original visa allocations.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood stated that while the UK has consistently offered refuge to those fleeing war and persecution, misuse of the visa system will not be tolerated. She added that the extraordinary step to suspend visas was necessary to prevent exploitation of the system.
Statistics show that asylum claims from individuals entering the UK on legal visas have tripled since 2021, with 39% of last year’s approximately 100,000 applications coming from people who entered through legitimate channels.
UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has suspended applications from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Sudan and Myanmar after visas were abused by migrants following their arrival to claim asylum.#UKVisaBan #AsylumCrisis #ShabanaMahmood #ImmigrationControl #VisaAbuse #PakistanTV… pic.twitter.com/lSzrqcas2f
— Pakistan TV (@PakTVGlobal) March 4, 2026
Currently, around 16,000 people—mostly from these four countries—are residing in the UK at government expense, including over 6,000 in hotels. Annual costs for accommodating refugees have reached roughly £4 billion (USD 5.34 billion).
The new restrictions will take effect from March 26, 2026. The government indicated that once the system stabilizes, a new process will be introduced allowing limited and controlled quotas for asylum applications via “safe and legal routes.”
Since 2021, the UK has granted asylum to 37,000 Afghan nationals, while approximately 190,000 visas were issued last year on humanitarian grounds. Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasized that the UK’s immigration system will now follow strict, balanced criteria to prevent irregular migration, aligning the country with European “pull factor” policies.
