SU launches national campaign opposing gov’s study visa brake 

Friday October 30 2026, 9:50am

The Cambridge Students’ Union (SU) has launched a national campaign calling on the UK government to immediately reverse its decision to suspend new student visas for individuals from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan

The UK government announced an ‘emergency brake’ on study visas for applicants from the four conflict-affected countries in March. The policy’s introduction meant that students from these countries were unable to take up their Cambridge offers in the last round of applications

The new student-led campaign was launched on Thursday (29/10) alongside the SUs at the University of Manchester, UCL, and the University of Birmingham

Varsity understands that the SU is in the process of collecting signatures for an open letter addressed to the government, which seeks the support of elected student representatives from UK universities, university leaders, and parliamentarians. According to the SU, the letter began circulating on Tuesday (27/10), and has gained a “significant” number of signatures thus far, including from several MPs.

SU Postgraduate (PG) President Jeeves Rohilla, who is leading the campaign, told Varsity: “I am proud to lead this national campaign on behalf of Cambridge Students’ Union […] Many of these students have overcome significant economic, political and cultural barriers to study in the UK. Despite their achievements, the imposed visa restrictions deny them access to education.”

Rohilla continued: “As the elected student body at the University of Cambridge, we believe that no prospective Cambridge student should be denied the opportunity to apply fairly to study at Cambridge on the basis of their nationality. I urge elected student representatives across UK universities, university leaders and MPs to sign our open letter and make their support for international students heard in a climate that is becoming increasingly hostile towards them.”

A preview of the open letter seen by Varsity criticises the fact that the visa brake enables the Home Office “to unilaterally determine admissions outcomes at independent educational institutions,” stating: “The UK government prides itself on defending the right to education, which cannot be reconciled with a policy that closes the doors of UK universities to those who have earned their place.”

The letter also argues: “At a time when the UK is competing to attract global talent, the answer cannot be to turn individuals away.”

The government said that they had implemented the study visa brake, effective from 26 March onwards, “to reduce asylum claims from people who enter the UK on a visa and later claim asylum”

The policy forms part of the Labour government’s crackdown on immigration amid mounting pressure from the political right, including Reform UK

In guidance issued to international students, the University of Cambridge said that they would not be able to “issue a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) to support a visa application for affected applicants”

The University’s guidance also stated: “The restriction is set by external immigration policy, and universities are therefore unable to change it or make exceptions. We recognise that this may cause considerable disappointment for applicants from the affected countries who are now unable to take up their offer.”

Visas have remained valid for students already in the UK with a valid visa, and for dual nationals who hold a passport from a country not affected by the brake

The government has described the visa brake, which has now lasted for seven months, as “temporary,” but is yet to issue an end date

In April, Osman Mohamed, a Sudanese student who had just received an offer for the MPhil in energy technologies at Cambridge, toldVarsity that receiving his offer “was one of the happiest moments of my life”

“After months of preparation, stress, hope, and hard work, it felt like every effort had been worth it. But that happiness lasted only two days before the visa brake was announced. It felt like I was standing in front of the door of my dreams, but not allowed to step inside,” Mohamed said

He described the timing of the policy’s introduction as “painful,” and added: “I respect the government’s right to manage immigration and protect the integrity of its systems. But in Sudan’s case, this policy feels disproportionate and badly targeted.”

He cited the fact that Sudan is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, and that “much of its higher education infrastructure has been severely damaged”

All four countries affected by the study visa brake are experiencing political instability or conflict. Recent tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have led to violent clashes in border regions, Cameroon faces ongoing separatist unrest, and both Myanmar and Sudan are in civil war. The United Nations have described the conflict in Sudan as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis

In March, Afra Mohamed, another Sudanese student with a postgraduate Cambridge offer to study computational biology, told the Financial Times that she had experienced the “full arc of hope to humiliation” upon receiving her offer and being told the offer had been sent in “error” on the same day

Overall, 200 Sudanese applicants were sent offers from UK universities, which were then impacted by the visa ban. 25 of these students received offers from Cambridge or Oxford

A parliamentary petition asking the government to publish evidence and methodology for the visa brake and create transitional arrangements for affected applicants was published on 13 April, and closed on 13 October. The petition received over 38,000 signatures

The Home Office responded to the petition in August, stating that it had “published the evidence and methodology for the 2026 visa brake, implemented transitional arrangements and committed to reviewing the policy”

The full response to the petition added that the government was designing a refugee work route for arrivals in autumn 2027 onwards, for which “no nationalities will be prevented from eligibility”

Amnesty International also released its own petition calling on the Home Secretary to reverse the visa brake. The petition stated that “stopping students from Afghanistan, Sudan, Myanmar and Cameroon from studying in the UK does not solve global instability. It harms students – especially women – who are seeking education, safety, and opportunity”

Amnesty’s petition focused in particular on women and girls in Afghanistan, who “under the Taliban have been systemically excluded from secondary and higher education”. The organisation added: “for many women and girls from Afghanistan, international study opportunities are one of the only remaining ways to continue learning and build a future”

In July, the University of Manchester Students’ Union said that they believe the policy is “unfair” because “the harm done to these prospective students far outweighs the small difference to asylum statistics” given that, according to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), only 0.6% of all UK international students are from the four affected countries

Following the announcement of the visa brake, Mike Nicholson, Director of Recruitment, Admissions, and Participation and Deputy Head of Education Services at the University of Cambridge, commented: “The University has not withdrawn any offers for those intending to start in the 2026-27 academic year, but we have written to explain the changes to the visa regulations.”

He added: “The University continues to work with Universities UK and others across the sector to secure changes to the visa brake where it can be demonstrated that offer holders present a low risk of not completing their studies and fulfilling the conditions of a study visa.”

The University has fewer than ten undergraduate offer holders from the four affected countries on average each year, and fewer than 20 for postgraduate study. In most cases, these offer holders receive scholarships

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Source: www.varsity.co.uk