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The British government may soon restrict visa applications from students in countries, including Pakistan, as part of efforts to reduce annual net migration, a government official said.
The move targeting Pakistani students comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party suffered losses in local elections last week, fueled by public dissatisfaction over issues such as illegal immigration.
The UK government is set to unveil an Immigration White Paper next week, outlining a detailed plan to curb net migration, which reached 728,000 people in the year to June 2023.
“Our upcoming Immigration White Paper will set out a comprehensive plan to restore order to our broken immigration system,” the Home Office confirmed in a statement.
High levels of legal migration, including the flow of Pakistani students, have long dominated Britain’s political agenda and were a major factor behind the Brexit referendum in 2016.
Official figures show that out of 108,000 asylum claims made in Britain last year, 16,000 were by individuals who initially entered the country on student visas. While the UK government has not disclosed a breakdown by nationality, it acknowledged that students from Pakistan, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka are among those most likely to claim asylum after entering on work, student, or visitor visas.
Calls for a stricter immigration approach intensified after Labour’s disappointing performance in the local elections. Jo White, a representative of the “Red Wall” group of Labour MPs, urged the government to stop “pussyfooting around” and take more decisive action.
The new immigration measures could significantly impact the future of Pakistani students seeking to study in the UK, as Britain toughens its stance on migration control.
