UK mulls visa restrictions on Pakistani students amid asylum concerns

Dubai: The United Kingdom is considering new immigration measures that could restrict student visa applications from Pakistan, citing concerns that a significant number of Pakistani nationals are using student, work, or visitor visas as a pathway to claim asylum.

The move, part of an upcoming Immigration White Paper expected next week, aims to address mounting political pressure to reduce net migration, which soared to 728,000 in the year ending June 2024.

British officials say the new plan will introduce stricter screening and potentially predictive profiling to assess visa applicants from countries deemed “high risk” including Pakistan, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka.

Asylum on student visas

“Out of the 108,000 asylum claims in Britain last year, around 16,000 were filed by individuals who initially entered the country on student visas,” said a UK Home Office spokesperson. While the government has not publicly released a breakdown by nationality, internal assessments reportedly identify Pakistani nationals as among the most likely to apply for asylum after arriving through legal visa channels.

The proposed visa restrictions follow sharp criticism of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government after poor performance in recent local elections. Immigration, both legal and illegal, remains a politically charged issue, especially in former Labour strongholds known as the “Red Wall,” according to reports in the British media.

Visa applications

British authorities are now working with the National Crime Agency (NCA) to develop data models that can flag visa applicants who fit the profile of potential asylum claimants. Officials may even assess personal financial documents, such as bank statements, to determine the credibility of applicants before granting student visas.

Nearly 10,000 people who originally entered the UK on legal work or student visas were later found to be living in asylum accommodation, such as taxpayer-funded hotels. Pakistanis were among the top nationalities in this group, according to data from the UK Home Office.

Legal and ethical concerns

Meanwhile, experts have raised legal and ethical concerns about the plan.

Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory at Oxford University, warned that any profiling system could be flawed or discriminatory, according to The Times report. “The key question is whether the government actually has reliable data to accurately predict who might claim asylum. Otherwise, it could lead to unfair or arbitrary outcomes,” she said.

While the UK government has broad discretion over granting visas, the proposal could trigger backlash in countries like Pakistan, where thousands of students seek higher education opportunities in Britain each year.

If implemented, the policy could deal a serious blow to educational and people-to-people ties between Pakistan and the UK, a relationship that has historically remained robust despite geopolitical tensions, experts noted.