Legislation punishing citizens of specific nationalities for actions they didn't take is absolutely unacceptable
Reform are proposing increasingly odd and racist seeming policies.
This one is an unpleasant mix of prejudice and punishing a people for the actions of its government.
Reform UK has said it would stop issuing visas to any person from a country which continues to demand compensation from the UK for its role in the transatlanctic trade in enslaved people.
That said, I’m horrified to have to say that this kind of thing is not limited to the upsettingly ‘mainstream’ party most favoured by far right extremists.
This from Labour is likewise pretty disgusting:
Any applications submitted online after 12:01am on 26 March 2026 will be refused if you are applying for:
- a Student visa and you are a national of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar or Sudan
- a Skilled Worker visa and you are a national of Afghanistan
Why? The claimed fear is that a lot of people in those categories later claim asylum.
Firstly, even if this was true and relevant then I’m afraid targeting people based on their nationality - and once again punishing them based on the perceived behaviour of their fellow citizens - is extremely prejudicial and nets out obviously racist.
Secondly, it isn’t relevant. The asylum system should be totally independent of the education system.
If a student later claims asylum, then the asylum system will already evaluate their claim and if it is found to be frivolous then the student will not be allowed to stay. Exactly the same as with other asylum claims from other nationalities or visa entry routes.
Let’s do the usual sort of thought exercise here. Switch the should-be protected characteristics. Would it be acceptable if we said that no women were allowed to come study here? No gay people? Then why no Sudanese people?
Besides, we should be proud and grateful when people decide to come to study - and hence contribute - to our country and its increasingly desperate seemingly economy.
New analysis shows that just one year’s intake of incoming international students is worth £28.8 billion to the UK economy