FOREIGN students and workers from four countries are being barred from coming to the UK under Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
Mahmood is making the move after visas were abused by migrants who claimed asylum after their arrival in the UK.
Immigrants entering the country on student and worker visas used the route as a backdoor to claim refugee status.
Many have subsequently been housed in asylum hotels at taxpayers’ expense, The Telegraph reports.
Now, for the first time the Home Secretary is imposing an “emergency brake” on student applications from rom Afghanistan, Cameroon, Sudan and Myanmar.
It follows a near six times increase in the number of students from those countries claiming asylum since 2021.
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Visas for skilled workers from Afghanistan are also being suspended after widespread abuse of the system.
Last year the number of migrants claiming asylum outstripped the number of work visas issued.
Migrants swapping from work, study or visitor visas to claim asylum made up nearly four in 10 of the 100,000 asylum claims in the past year.
This was triple the number from just five years ago.
Ms Mahmood told The Telegraph: “Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution, but our visa system must not be abused.
“That is why I am taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity. I will restore order and control to our borders.”
