The UK government’s recent introduction of an ‘emergency brake’ on study visas has meant that students from conflict-affected countries are unable to take up their Cambridge offers.
The government stopped issuing study visas to people from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan applying from outside the UK from 26 March, with the Home Office citing widespread abuse of the current visa system.
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 on the study visa brake, the University of Cambridge said they “will not be able to issue a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) to support a visa application for affected applicants”.
The University’s website also states: “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.”
Dual nationals holding a passport from a country not affected by the visa brake, applicants already in the UK with a valid visa, and current international students in the UK will not be impacted by the policy.
Osman Mohamed, a Sudanese student who recently received an offer for the MPhil in energy technologies at Cambridge, told Varsity 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.
Mohamed called for “careful screening and targeted safeguards” instead of “a blanket restriction that ends up punishing genuine students” and “sends a damaging message to talented international students that, even after they meet the academic standard and receive an offer, the rules can still change abruptly in a way that excludes them because of where they were born”.
Last month, 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, on the same day, being told the offer had been sent in “error”.
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.
Mike Nicholson, Director of Recruitment, Admissions, and Participation and Deputy Head of Education Services at 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.
The Cambridge Trust is a charitable organisation founded by the University to provide scholarships to both international and domestic students. It is the largest provider of scholarships at the University, supporting around 1,500 students each year.
A spokesperson for the Cambridge Trust said: “The Cambridge Trust is proud of its long history of supporting outstanding students from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan. These students are supported across a variety of prestigious programmes, such as the Cambridge Africa Changemakers Scholarship and the Cambridge Trust International Scholarship, both of which provide full-cost awards for doctoral studies.”
The spokesperson said that scholarship applications from students affected by the visa brake have not been rejected, but placed on reserve lists, allowing the Trust to revisit eligible candidates from the four countries if the government’s policy changes.
The spokesperson added that the Trust believes diversity at the University is crucial, stating: “The evidence shows that it is in the UK’s short- and long-term interests to enable international students to study in the UK. They contribute significantly to the UK economy while they are here. They are also more likely to want to engage with the UK in future, when they are in positions of leadership or influence in policy, industry and academia.”
The Cambridge Trust is currently supporting three students with Cameroonian primary nationality, one with Afghan primary nationality and one with Sudanese primary nationality. Of these, three are PhD students and two are master’s students.
Dr Marissa Quie, convener of the Afghanistan Desk within the University’s Crises and Refugee Hub, said: “The government’s new visa restrictions target a group of students so small as to be statistically negligible. Yet their impact will be anything but.”
Quie was born in Afghanistan, and remained an Afghan citizen until the events of 9/11. She was involved in the first peace talks with the Taliban, advising the Afghan government on the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Programme, a precursor to the Doha talks.
She continued: “My perspective is shaped by the fact that the University of Cambridge has just become a University of Sanctuary. That designation carries a clear commitment: that universities should act as places of refuge, intellectual continuity, and opportunity for those displaced by conflict, repression, and exclusion.”
Last month, Cambridge was awarded University of Sanctuary accreditation in recognition of the University’s commitment to welcoming refugees, asylum seekers, and forced migrants.
Quie also expressed concern that the visa brake “risks closing off vital educational pathways, particularly for women from fragile and failing states,” and suggested that the government’s headline statistics comparing asylum claims and visa issuances are misleading.
Official figures indicate that nationals from the four affected countries are the most likely to claim asylum after arriving in the UK on student visas.
Drawing on her experience leading the University’s Afghan Desk, Quie told Varsity: “In the Afghan case, those who reach UK universities are typically drawn from a highly selective and academically outstanding cohort. Many have maintained top academic performance despite the collapse of formal education systems since 2021. For women in particular, international study has become one of the last remaining pathways to higher education following the Taliban’s bans.”
Quie also said that the policy “cuts directly across one of the UK’s own flagship programmes: the Chevening Scholarship,” which has supported over 55,000 alumni, including from the four countries.
Potential Chevening scholars were informed that their applications could not be “taken forward” following the Home Secretary’s announcement of the policy.
In response to the visa brake, the University of Cambridge Left Society commented: “No student who has gotten into Cambridge or any other top British university on merit should be prevented from taking up their studies because the UK government wants to be seen as tough on immigration.”
The Cambridge Young Greens said: “The visa brake does nothing but penalise young people who are dealing with instability and war in their home countries.”
The other political societies were contacted for comment.
Dr Majdi Osman, a specialist in infectious diseases at Cambridge, claimed the policy must have either resulted from a misreading of data or “a deliberate choice to stamp on the dreams of exceptional young people for a headline”.
Osman, who helped create the Pam Omidyar Scholarship at Wolfson College, which supports Sudanese students, told the FT: “The students our fund brought were at the top of their fields — in mathematics, artificial intelligence and engineering […] Exactly the talent Britain needs to attract to compete globally, and exactly the people committed to rebuilding Sudan when peace comes.”
Five Sudanese students and one Afghan student with offers to study at UK universities, including at least one with a Cambridge offer, have accused the Home Secretary of racial discrimination and launched legal action to challenge the visa brake.
The Russell Group has also raised concerns that the visa brake was introduced without clear supporting data or prior consultation with universities and sector bodies.
Government sources have said further visa brakes may be applied to other countries where there is a high asylum risk.
The Home Office was contacted for comment.
