UK puts emergency brake on study visas for four countries’ nationals

Shabana Mahmood claims legal migration routes are increasingly used as a back door to claim asylum in the UK. Photograph: Neil Hall/EPA

The government has imposed an emergency brake on visas for the first time on nationals from four countries, as Shabana Mahmood accused them of exploiting Britain’s generosity to claim asylum.

Study visas for nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan have been halted, in addition to work visas for Afghans.