UK Halts Visas for 4 Countries, Tightens Asylum Rules

0:00On March 4th, the U.K. government has hit the emergency break on visas for nationals from four countries, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan. Study visas are now halted for all of them, and work visas are stopped for Afghans too. Home Secretary Shabbana Mahmoud says this targets people using legal routes as a backdoor to claim asylum. Home office data shows 39 percent of the 100,000 asylum claims in 2025 came after arriving legally, like on. Student visas, applications from these four countries, drove the biggest jump since 2021. Earlier threats like this worked with Angola, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, leading to deals and deportation flights back home. Mahmoud plans a speech Thursday to outline tougher asylum rules, including telling every refugee their status is temporary for just 30 months. Those from safe countries must return. Meanwhile, some labor MPs and unions push back for softer policies after a tough

1:02by-election loss, but the government is pressing ahead to tighten border controls. In the meantime, some labor MPs and unions push back for softer policies after a tough by-election loss, but the government is pressing ahead to tighten border controls.