LABOUR is reportedly considering plans to “restrict visas” from certain nationalities deemed “most likely to overstay” in the UK, including those from Pakistan and Nigeria.
Applications for work and study visas from these nationalities among others could soon be curbed by the Home Office, according to The Times.
The broad reforms are expected to be announced in next week’s Immigration White Paper, outlining Sir Keir Starmer’s strategy to significantly reduce net migration, which reached a record 728,000 last year.
Ministers are also ordering immigration officials to get tougher on visa cheats using dodgy bank statements to pose as poor, reports the outlet.
Officials will be on the lookout for those who claim that they are destitute and require taxpayer-funded accommodation such as hotels.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is leading the charge after a massive surge in legal migrants flipping to asylum claims once inside the UK.
Last year alone, a staggering 40,000 asylum claims were filed by people who’d first arrived on visas.
Of those, nearly 10,000 were being put up in taxpayer-paid digs despite arriving legally.
That’s now being branded a “backdoor route” into Britain’s asylum system.
As part of this overhaul, visa applicants from “high-risk” countries might face outright rejection if they appear likely to remain and seek asylum.
And a new model built with the National Crime Agency will flag suspicious applications, including students who don’t turn up to class or have links to people smugglers.
The list of flagged countries – including Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka – is already raising eyebrows, with some legal experts warning of court challenges over discrimination.
But the Government is standing firm, saying the system is being abused, and that genuine migrants are being undermined by those playing the system.
Insiders say one case involved a Pakistani student who overstayed and won asylum despite being convicted of sexual assault, reports The Times.
The number of foreign students flipping to asylum is soaring with 16,000 student visa holders doing so last year, alongside 11,500 workers and 9,500 visitors.
Labour’s promises to fix the broken immigration system have seen pressure ramp up after Nigel Farage’s Reform UK gave them a bloody nose at the local elections.
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: “This is a desperate response to the thrashing Labour got in last week’s elections, but like everything Starmer offers, it is just performative and won’t make a difference.
“The system already refuses visas for people who fit the profile of asylum claimants, and asylum seekers already have to prove they are destitute to get accommodation.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “To tackle abuse by foreign nationals who arrive on work and study visas and go on to claim asylum, we are building intelligence on the profile of these individuals to identify them earlier and faster.
“We keep the visa system under constant review and where we detect trends, which may undermine our immigration rules, we will not hesitate to take action.”
Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, said: “In an increasingly volatile world some people on work or study visas may find their lives at risk because the political situation in their home country has changed.
“It is right that they are protected from harm and given a fair hearing in the asylum system as well as being provided with basic support if they need it.
“To restrict access to seeking asylum based on a person’s nationality would not only be unfair but also discriminatory.
“Right first-time decision-making will ensure refugees are given safety to go on to contribute to communities across the country and those who don’t have a right to stay in the UK are removed in an orderly and humane way.”
