Islamabad, May 6
The British government is planning to restrict visa applications from students of various countries, including Pakistan, as they are considered most likely to seek asylum after reaching the United Kingdom. The move comes as the Keir Starmer-led government looks to bring down annual net migration and restrict inflow from countries whose students apply for student visas but become asylum seekers later.
People who voted for Prime Minister Starmer's Labour Party have expressed anger and frustration over many issues, including illegal immigration. This has prompted the government to formulate a policy document, or a White Paper, which it plans to publish during the coming week.
Details revealed that the UK government will be presenting its plan to reduce net migration, which hit a massive 728,000 people during the year to June last year.
Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nigeria are among the most likely nations to face restrictions by the UK government as the maximum number of people who applied for asylum last year came from these countries.
As per details, out of the 108,000 people who applied for asylum in Britain last year, at least 16,000 of them had student visas, with majority of them being from Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nigeria, making them the most probable countries to be restricted from student visas.
“People from Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka were the most likely to claim asylum in Britain after arriving on a work, student or a visitor visa," maintains the British government.
The UK's move will affect thousands of students in Pakistan who plan to go abroad for their higher education and see visitor and student visas as an opportunity to leave Pakistan, set foot in the UK and later on seek asylum.
Pakistanis have in the past been severely criticised for misusing various visas to travel abroad, only to end up as an asylum seeker and settle in different countries including the United States, Canada and the US.
- IANS