The United Kingdom is planning to tighten visa rules for people coming from countries like Nigeria, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka due to concerns that many legal visitors switch to asylum claims after arrival.
According to a report by The Times and confirmed by the UK Home Office, the government is worried about people who enter the UK on work or study visas but later apply for asylum to remain in the country permanently.
A Home Office spokesperson said, “Our upcoming Immigration White Paper will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system.”
Though official data on visa overstayers hasn’t been made public since 2020, the Home Office said it is building intelligence to identify those likely to abuse the system.
“We keep the visa system under constant review,” the spokesperson added. “Where we detect trends that may undermine our immigration rules, we will not hesitate to take action.”
Last year, over 108,000 people applied for asylum in the UK — the highest number since records began in 1979. Nigerian nationals made 2,841 of those claims, while Pakistan and Sri Lanka recorded 10,542 and 2,862 claims respectively.
Some experts have questioned how much this new restriction will reduce asylum claims. Professor Jonathan Portes from the UK think tank *UK in a Changing Europe* told BBC Radio 4: “The impact is likely to be small. It’s not really about numbers — it’s about stopping abuse of the system.”
The UK Labour government, led by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, is under pressure to reduce both legal and illegal migration. Although Starmer has promised change, he has refused to set a target number, saying past governments’ caps had little effect.
In the year leading to June 2024, net migration fell to 728,000 from a record high of 906,000 the year before. The drop followed tougher rules introduced by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, including raising the salary requirement for skilled workers and stopping care workers from bringing family members.
Full details of the visa restriction plan will be published later this month in a new immigration white paper.
Enver Solomon, head of the Refugee Council, said that while the UK must protect its borders, it should also consider that some workers or students may face danger back home due to political changes. He said such people “deserve protection and a fair hearing.”
