Islamabad, March 8 (IANS). Recently, Britain has decided to impose an “emergency brake” on visas of citizens of four countries following increasing asylum demands by people coming through legal routes. Meanwhile, the discussion has also intensified regarding the small number of deportations (returns) from Pakistan.
According to the report of Pakistan’s leading newspaper ‘Dawn’, Britain’s Home Ministry will end sponsored study visa for people from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan, while skilled worker visa for Afghans will also be stopped.
When Britain’s Home Minister Shabana Mahmood was asked why Pakistan was not included in the proposed visa restrictions, while Pakistanis are the largest number of people who reach Britain on legal visas and later seek asylum, she said that this is not the end of our action.
However, he declined to say whether talks were going on with other countries regarding possible visa restrictions.
Pakistan and UK government sources said Islamabad is cooperating with British authorities on the return of unsuccessful asylum applicants, but many Pakistanis traveling to Britain on student visas later apply for asylum.
According to official figures, Pakistani nationals are the largest group of asylum seekers in Britain and almost one in ten applications are from Pakistanis. 10,638 Pakistanis applied for asylum in 2024, almost double the number in 2023 and more than applicants from Eritrea, Iran and Afghanistan.
Many people initially arrive in Britain through legal routes such as student, work or visitor visas, but later claim asylum.
According to government figures, more than 70 percent of asylum applications from Pakistanis are rejected. However, despite the rejection rate being so high, very few people are sent back to Pakistan.
According to UK Home Office data, 10,853 Pakistani asylum applications were rejected in the year 2025, but only 445 people were sent back to Pakistan in the same period, which is about 4.1 percent of the rejected applications.
–IANS
AY/VC