Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Caitlin Doherty

UK planning on restricting visa applications from certain nationalities – report

The UK is planning on restricting visa applications from nationalities considered most likely to overstay and claim asylum, a report has suggested.

Applications for work and study visas from nationalities such as Pakistanis, Nigerians and Sri Lankans are among those that could be curbed by the Home Office, according to the Times newspaper.

The paper reported that the plans will be announced as part of the Immigration White Paper shortly, as the Government looks to reduce net migration figures.

Labour promised in its manifesto that it would bring down the numbers. The party said that the overall level of net migration “must be properly controlled and managed”.

Failure to do so reduces the incentives for businesses to train locally,” it added.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “To tackle abuse by foreign nationals who arrive on work and study visas and go on to claim asylum, we are building intelligence on the profile of these individuals to identify them earlier and faster.

“We keep the visa system under constant review and will where we detect trends, which may undermine our immigration rules, we will not hesitate to take action.

“Under our plan for change, our upcoming Immigration White Paper will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system.”

Applications for work and study visas are reportedly among those that could be curbed by the Home Office (Kirsty O’Connor/PA) (PA Archive)

Figures released last month indicated that the number of migrants applying for key visa routes into the UK had dropped by more than a third in a year.

Applications across the worker, study, and family visa categories covered a total of 772,200 people in the year to March 2025, down 37% on the nearly 1.24 million in the previous 12 months, according to the Home Office data.

The decline is likely to reflect changes in legal migration rules introduced early in 2024 by the previous Conservative government, including a ban on overseas care workers and students bringing family dependants, and a steep rise in the salary threshold for skilled workers to £38,700.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.