By the numbers: How many student visas go to countries that have been affected by the UK’s halt on grants?

The Government has ceased granting study visas to four countries NewsUKHome NewsBy the numbers: How many student visas go to countries that have been affected by the UK’s halt on grants?The Government has ceased granting study visas to four countriesIan Jones Wednesday 04 March 2026 14:11 GMTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popoverUK suspends student visas for four countries over asylum abuse claimsYour support helps us to tell the storyRead moreSupport NowFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.Read moreThe UK government has ceased issuing study visas to individuals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has accused these nations of exploiting Britain’s "generosity" in offering asylum. The decision comes despite the fact that citizens from these four countries collectively represented less than one per cent of all UK study visas granted to foreign nationals last year.In 2025, the UK received 100,625 asylum claims. Of these, 12 per cent – equating to 12,578 individuals – had initially entered the country on a study visa. While the Home Office regularly publishes data on the nationalities of those issued study visas, a detailed breakdown of the nationalities within this 12 per cent figure is not publicly available.These figures show the four countries affected by the Government’s latest decision made up just 0.7 per cent of study visas issued in 2025.There were 2,084 visas granted to foreign nationals from Myanmar, 538 for Cameroon, 277 for Afghanistan and 243 for Sudan.Together these made up 3,142 visas out of the 429,254 study visas issued in 2025.Afghan supporters cheer as they surround a vehicle of Taliban security personnel amid the ongoing clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, on the outskirts of Jalalabad on 28 February 2026 (AFP/Getty)The four countries have accounted for a similar proportion of study visas in each of the past five years, making up 0.7 per cent of the total granted in 2025, 2024 and 2023, 0.5 per cent in 2022 and 0.4 per cent in 2021.The most common nationalities in each of the past five years were India, China, Nigeria and Pakistan.Collectively, these four countries accounted for 60 per cent of study visas issued last year, 63 per cent in 2024, 68 per cent in 2023, 70 per cent in 2022 and 64 per cent in 2021.The Government has also halted the issuing of skilled work visas to Afghanistan.Some 154 work visas were issued to Afghans last year, accounting for 0.1 per cent of a total of 261,112.A separate breakdown of the 100,625 people claiming asylum in the UK last year shows that Afghans were the fourth most common nationality, making up 6 per cent of the total (6,462 people), though this covers all routes into the UK, both legal and illegal, regardless of when someone first arrived in the country.Sudan accounted for a further 6 per cent of this total (5,869 people), Myanmar 1 per cent (879) and Cameroon 1 per cent (765).More aboutShabana MahmoodUKMyanmarCameroonSudanAfghanistanJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesCommentsMost popularPopular videosBulletinRead next