Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Lord German (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 10 September 2026, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 24 September 2026. It was answered by Lord Hanson of Flint (Labour) on Thursday, 24 September 2026 on behalf of the Home Office.

Visas: Overseas Students

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of prospective students from Cameroon, Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Sudan who have been unable to apply for student visas for the 2026–27 academic year as a result of restrictions on visa applications from nationals of those countries; and what assessment they have made of the impact of those restrictions on UK higher education institutions.

Answer

Applications for visas on the affected routes from the affected nationalities are now being refused. The Impact Assessment published during implementation of the visa brake sets out the forecasted impacts on Student visa applications for the affected nationalities. The latest public immigration statistics show that visa applications for the affected routes and nationalities in Q2 2026 have on average fallen by over 90% compared to Q4 2025.

We value the contribution of the higher education sector and continue to engage regularly with it, including Universities UK and the Russell Group, on the challenges the system faces. The visa brake is a temporary, evidence led measure but will only be lifted when the Government judges it appropriate to do so.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL3402
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Cameroon Overseas students Visas Myanmar Afghanistan Sudan
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk