- The UK government plans to tighten visa rules for nationals from high-risk countries to curb asylum claims.
- The move aims to prevent abuse of work and study visas, which are viewed as potential entry points into the asylum system.
- Pakistanis accounted for the largest number of asylum claims in the UK last year, followed by Sri Lankan and Nigerian nationals.
The UK government is set to tighten visa rules for nationals from countries deemed high-risk for overstaying or making asylum claims.
UK plans visa crackdown on Nigeria, others over asylum and overstay fears
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The proposed measure initiated by the UK government is part of a broader immigration crackdown which aims to restrict individuals from the affected countries to obtain work and study visas.
The development, which was first reported by The Times noted that as part of Labour’s plans to crackdown on abuse of the system, the UK government will reject visas from individuals who “fit the profile of someone who will go on to claim asylum and are from countries with high rates of asylum claims in the UK.”
With UK asylum, an individual automatically gains the opportunity to stay in the UK permanently whereas work and study visas are only temporary.
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However, when an asylum request is rejected, the affected individuals can prolong their stay — sometimes indefinitely — by making repeated appeals to frustrate their deportation.
The UK government, by this development, aims to prevent the use of work and study visas as an entry point into Britain’s asylum system.
According to government sources, visa holders from Pakistan, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka have been flagged as the most likely to follow this trajectory.
Pakistan tops UK asylum seekers' list
Last year, there was a high number of recorded asylum claims in the UK with over 108,000 people seeking asylum, the highest since records began in 1979.
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Pakistani nationals made up the largest group, with 10,542 claims, followed by Sri Lankan and Nigerian nationals with 2,862 and 2,841 claims, respectively.
40,000 people who entered the UK on valid visas later claimed asylum—37% of all applications and more than those arriving by small boats
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
In contrast, the number of UK work and study visas dropped in 2024 compared to the previous year.
Meanwhile, the UK hosted 732,285 international students in 2023/24, with most coming from India and China.
Last year, 40,000 people who entered the UK on valid visas later claimed asylum—37% of all applications and more than those arriving by small boats. Nearly 10,000 of them, initially on work or study visas, were housed in taxpayer-funded accommodation, including hotels.
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This development has raised concerns for Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who has highlighted the growing strain on the Home Office's accommodation system.
Following the update, the UK Home Office is also strengthening its intelligence capabilities to help caseworkers identify patterns among individuals who are most likely to exploit work and study visas as a route to claim asylum.
Nigeria’s UK population witnesses a surge
In a recent report, Business Insider Africa highlighted a dramatic surge in the number of Nigerian nationals migrating to the United Kingdom through its educational system, with the increase in student dependents sparking significant policy reforms.
Between 2019 and 2022, the number of Nigerian dependents accompanying students in the UK skyrocketed from approximately 1,500 to 52,000, a trend attributed to a policy lapse that went largely unchecked during the post-pandemic period.
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This exponential rise prompted the UK government to revise its immigration policies, particularly those concerning international students and their families.
The report quoted the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Richard Montgomery, who noted that the sharp increase in Nigerian student dependents became most pronounced after the COVID-19 pandemic, as many families sought relocation in response to Nigeria’s deteriorating economic conditions.
The financial instability and currency depreciation in Nigeria have contributed to a recent decline in new student applications, with the tightening of UK visa rules exacerbating the situation.
This downturn has sent ripples across the UK’s higher education sector, which had grown increasingly reliant on foreign students—particularly Nigerians—for revenue.
![Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive officer of Dangote Group, during a Bloomberg Television interview in New York, US, on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. [Getty Images]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'300'%20height%3D'172'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive officer of Dangote Group, during a Bloomberg Television interview in New York, US, on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. [Getty Images]")