The UK government is preparing to introduce stricter visa rules for certain nationalities, as part of a wider immigration crackdown. Under new Home Office proposals, nationals from countries such as Pakistan, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka may face tougher requirements when applying for work or study visas. Ministers believe that many individuals who arrive in the UK legally on such visas later claim asylum, a move that, if successful, allows them to remain permanently.
A Home Office spokesperson confirmed the government’s intentions, stating, “Our upcoming Immigration White Paper will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system.” However, specific details remain unclear, as the Home Office has not published exit check data since 2020 due to ongoing reviews into the accuracy of those figures. Many departures from the UK go unrecorded, meaning the absence of a departure record does not necessarily indicate someone has overstayed.
Professor Jonathan Portes, a senior fellow at UK in a Changing Europe, the overall impact of such visa restrictions on asylum numbers is likely to be minimal. According to Portes, the government’s strategy focuses less on reducing total migration and more on curbing what is perceived as abuse of the asylum process, such as individuals switching from student visas to asylum claims shortly after arriving.
Home Office data shows that over 108,000 people claimed asylum in the UK last year, marking the highest level since records began in 1979. Pakistani nationals accounted for the largest share with 10,542 claims, followed by Sri Lankan nationals at 2,862 and Nigerian nationals at 2,841. Meanwhile, the UK hosted 732,285 international students in 2023/24, with the highest numbers coming from India and China.
In recent years, the number of UK work and study visas has declined, partly influenced by new rules introduced under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. These included raising the minimum salary for skilled overseas workers from £26,200 to £38,700 and banning care workers from bringing family dependants. Net migration figures, which peaked at a record 906,000 in the year to June 2023, have since dropped to 728,000 in the year to June 2024.
Since becoming prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to reduce both legal and illegal migration, although he has stopped short of setting a specific net migration target. Labour’s plans include criminalizing actions that endanger lives at sea, cracking down on small boat crossings, and investing in domestic workforce training to reduce reliance on migrant labor. Starmer has also criticized the previous Conservative government, accusing it of failing to lower migration figures “by design, not accident.”
For more political updates, visit London Pulse News.
