Committee publication · Correspondence · 21 April 2026
Correspondence with the Minister for Migration and Citizenship, relating to the impact of the visa break on Chevening Scholars, dated 14 April and 27 March 2026
Summary
On 14 April 2026, the Minister for Migration and Citizenship responds to the Foreign Affairs Committee's concerns about visa brakes implemented on nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan, which block Chevening Scholarship applicants. The Minister defends the brakes as data-driven, citing a 470% rise in asylum claims from students of these nationalities since 2021, and states no exceptions will be made despite soft-power concerns.
Key findings
- Asylum applications by students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan rose to over 470% of their 2021 level by September 2025.
- The Government will not grant exceptions to the visa brakes for Chevening scholars, citing sustained asylum claims from these cohorts and the risk that such exceptions would make Chevening the only available UK student route.
- Only approximately 8% of the UK's 1,500 annual Chevening Scholarships are allocated to nationals from the four affected countries, limiting the overall impact.
- Chevening Fellows from affected nationalities can still access awards via Government Authorised Exchange (Temporary Work) visas or Standard Visitor visas.
- The Government is developing new safe and legal routes for refugees, including community sponsorship and specific pathways for skilled workers and students, to be opened as soon as feasible.
- The UK is maintaining significant humanitarian aid: £151 million to Afghanistan, £190 million to Myanmar since 2021, and £146 million to Sudan in 2026.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Mike Tapp MP (Minister for Migration and Citizenship), Dame Emily Thornberry MP (Chair, Foreign Affairs Committee), Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary, UN Refugee Agency
Notable line
“… the visa brake was introduced on account of the high numbers and proportions of visa-linked asylum claims by these nationalities.”
Key Quotes
“The number of asylum claims from people who arrived in the UK on a visa or other documented leave has nearly tripled over the last three years.”
“By year ending September 2025, asylum applications by students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan had risen to over 470% of their 2021 level.”
“Introducing these brakes, therefore, was a data-driven and evidence-based decision, taken to safeguard the fairness …”
“… the Government considers that introducing exceptions from the visa brakes for Chevening scholars of these nationalities would be unfair, and we have no current plans to do so.”
“The visa brake is not intended to be permanent and the Government will keep it under review.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗