Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department’s press release entitled Visa brake imposed on 4 countries after widespread visa abuse, published on 4 March 2026, what information her Department holds on the number of people on student visas from (a) Afghanistan, (b) Cameroon, (c) Myanmar and (d) Sudan who have attempted to obtain asylum and (i) succeeded and (ii) failed.

The visa brake will be kept under regular review and is not intended to be permanent; it will only be lifted when the Government considers it appropriate to do so.

Since 2021, there have been over 5,300 asylum claims from nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan, who originally arrived on student visas. It is estimated that the brake will prevent 4,300 study visas from being issued to the affected cohorts over an 18-month period.

We do not rule out wider action to address visa linked asylum claims. The UK keeps its visa system under continuous review, with any future changes informed by evidence and a range of relevant factors.