Judith BeyerMar 4
🧵The British government has ended study #visa for #Myanmar #Sudan #Afghanistan and #Cameroon. Why? Out of 100.000 #asylum applications per year, 39% entered legally. Most entries were from these four countries. By ending study visa, the gov. punishes legal entry! www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

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

Shabana Mahmood says UK’s generosity abused as study visas halted for nationals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan

The Guardian
Show threadJudith Beyer
For a decade, all British governments have argued that only those entering the #UK "legally" have the right to claim #asylum - all others did so "illegally". They even called a Bill the "Illegal #Migration Bill". The latest development - ending student visa - is in line with previous approaches:
Mar 4 at 8:22amWeb
Show threadJudith BeyerMar 4
Suella #Braverman already said in 2023: "We've dramatically reduced the avenues for legal challenge. Because what we found is people use legal avenues in a vexatious and frivolous way to thwart our ability to remove them or detain them" (BBC). It is the #law that gets in the way of politics here!
Show threadJudith BeyerMar 4
And if you cannot change the law, but you manage to scare people with deportation, everyone who can, will of course try to enter "legally" - e.g. via a study visa. If a person from #Myanmar is then claiming #asylum, it is their right to do so. I know many Myanmar students in Europe - they ALL study!
Show threadJudith BeyerMar 4
AND they might have to claim #asylum nonetheless as there is a civil war back home in #Myanmar and they might be forcefully conscripted upon return, imprisoned, tortured, disappeared. Similar scenarioes for #Sudan and #Afghanistan. To end visa for these countries is deeply unethical.
Show threadJudith BeyerMar 4
burmacampaign.org.uk/uk-burma-mya...

UK Burma/Myanmar Student Visa ...
UK Burma/Myanmar Student Visa Ban Exceptionally Cruel and Shortsighted - Burma Campaign UK

Burma Campaign UK today condemned UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood as exceptionally cruel and shortsighted in banning people from Burma from obtaining student visas. “The opportunity to come to the UK to study is life-changing for the individual student but also an investment in the future of Myanmar, as people will use new skills to …

Burma Campaign UK