Student update: Student route 'visa brake' announced and two new countries added to Visa National list
March 05, 2026
A Statement of Changes to the Immigration Rules was published today, 5 March 2026. There are two separate changes that may affect you.
If you are a national or citizen of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, or Sudan, and you are looking to apply outside the UK for immigration permission as a Student to study in the UK (including if you have an offer from a UK institution), the government is introducing something it calls a ‘visa brake’ which will affect you. Please read for further details.
If you are looking to travel to the UK and are a citizen or national of Nicaragua or St Lucia, there are new restrictions that will affect you.
Student route 'visa brake' - Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan
The Government announced on 4 March 2026 that they were imposing a 'visa brake' on nationals or citizens of these four countries. The Statement of Changes published today outlines how this will be enacted in law.
From on or after 26 March 2026, all applications for entry clearance under the Student route by nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, or Sudan will be refused. This is irrespective of when a CAS was assigned.
A new paragraph is being added to the eligibility requirements in Appendix Student of the Immigration Rules.This new paragraph is due to be added to the eligibility requirements in the Immigration Rules on 26 March 2026:
“ST 3.3. A person must not be applying for entry clearance as a Student as a national or citizen of the following countries:
(a) Afghanistan; or
(b) Cameroon; or
(c) Myanmar; or
(d) Sudan”
It is important to note that this only affects applications for entry clearance. These changes do not affect you if:
-
you are already in the UK with Student permission
-
you are applying for Student permission in the UK
The explanatory memorandum to the Statement of Changes does outline that, “the brake is not intended to be permanent and will be regularly reviewed, with the aim that it can be released as soon as it is considered appropriate to do so”, although there is currently no end date in place.
New restrictions - Nicaragua and St Lucia
New restrictions have been imposed for citizens and nationals of Nicaragua and St Lucia wishing to travel to the UK.
Nicaragua and St Lucia have been added to the Visa National list and consequently removed from Appendix Electronic Travel Authorisation. Citizens and nationals of Nicaragua or St Lucia are now required to obtain entry clearance before travelling to the UK for any purpose (including as a Visitor), as opposed to being able to seek permission to enter the UK upon arrival. This change was implemented with immediate effect from 15:00 UK time on 5 March 2026.
However, there is temporary protection from this change for any nationals or citizens of Nicaragua or St Lucia who hold confirmed bookings to the UK, and who have been granted an Electronic Travel Authorisation, on or before 15:00 GMT on 5 March 2026 where arrival in the UK is no later than 15:00 BST on 16 April 2026
If you are unsure if this affects you, or if you need any advice regarding these changes, please contact our Student advice line, or the international student advice team at your institution.
If there are any other changes in this Statement of Changes which are relevant to students, we will provide a summary of these once we have analysed them in detail.
