Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department operates a policy of ending study visas for nationalities where asylum claims from students go beyond a certain percentage.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
From 26 March 2026, we will refuse sponsored study visa applications from main applicants outside of the UK who are nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan. Additionally, we will refuse Skilled Worker visa applications from main applicants outside of the UK who are nationals of Afghanistan.
Almost 8,000 students from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sudan and Cameroon have claimed asylum since 2021. This is over 470% of their 2021 level. Without action, asylum claims will start to outstrip visas issued – and in the case of Afghan workers has already done so.
Due to the impact of asylum claims on border operations and the wider immigration system, these high numbers are not sustainable.
The UK keeps its visa system under regular review and decisions on changes are informed by a range of factors.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 119435 on Asylum: Sudan, how many of those who claimed asylum were Chevening Scholars.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Available data on asylum claims linked to study visas for Sudan is referenced in the answer to Question 119435.
The requested information on asylum claims from Chevening scholars is not available from published statistics.
Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she had with Cabinet colleagues prior to the recent decision concerning Sudanese student visas.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new International Education Strategy has confirmed this government's continued commitment to welcome international students who meet the requirements to study in the UK.
The government recognises the significant economic and cultural contribution that all international students make to the UK’s higher education sector.
We must, however, retain a robust immigration system which safeguards against exploitation. The government is therefore introducing targeted measures to help protect the integrity of the system, which may apply to study visas. These measures will apply where evidence shows a consistently high number and proportion of visa-linked asylum claims. Once in place, applications from the specified nationalities on the affected routes will be refused.
The government announced on 4 March that these measures would be imposed on nationals of four countries, including Sudan. This means that Sudanese nationals will not be awarded a study visa until the measures are lifted.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the contribution of Sudanese students on Higher Education.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The new International Education Strategy has confirmed this government's continued commitment to welcome international students who meet the requirements to study in the UK.
The government recognises the significant economic and cultural contribution that all international students make to the UK’s higher education sector.
We must, however, retain a robust immigration system which safeguards against exploitation. The government is therefore introducing targeted measures to help protect the integrity of the system, which may apply to study visas. These measures will apply where evidence shows a consistently high number and proportion of visa-linked asylum claims. Once in place, applications from the specified nationalities on the affected routes will be refused.
The government announced on 4 March that these measures would be imposed on nationals of four countries, including Sudan. This means that Sudanese nationals will not be awarded a study visa until the measures are lifted.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the user identity verification provisions in the Online Safety Act on the Government’s target to halve violence against women and girls.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom will be consulting on guidance for user identity verification required under the Online Safety Act, following the publication of the categorisation register. The consultation findings will be published as soon as possible, by mid-2027.
The Act requires providers to offer UK adult users features to filter out non verified users; this will help women and girls filter out anonymous abuse more effectively.
The user identify verification requirements will allow users greater protection of their data identity and improves digital inclusion and accessibility.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the implementation of the user identity verification provisions in the Online Safety Act on the uptake of digital identity products and services.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom will be consulting on guidance for user identity verification required under the Online Safety Act, following the publication of the categorisation register. The consultation findings will be published as soon as possible, by mid-2027.
The Act requires providers to offer UK adult users features to filter out non verified users; this will help women and girls filter out anonymous abuse more effectively.
The user identify verification requirements will allow users greater protection of their data identity and improves digital inclusion and accessibility.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what work her Department has undertaken on the implementation of the user identity verification provisions in the Online Safety Act.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Ofcom will be consulting on guidance for user identity verification required under the Online Safety Act, following the publication of the categorisation register. The consultation findings will be published as soon as possible, by mid-2027.
The Act requires providers to offer UK adult users features to filter out non verified users; this will help women and girls filter out anonymous abuse more effectively.
The user identify verification requirements will allow users greater protection of their data identity and improves digital inclusion and accessibility.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions she has had with Ofcom, on the attribution of ultimate authorship of defamatory comments towards humans by autonomous bots.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
A range of rules already apply to AI systems, such as data protection, competition, equality legislation and other forms of sector regulation. The UK has well established defamation laws, and our data protection laws also apply to personal data processed in the context of AI. We continue to monitor developments in the common law in this area.
AI services including chatbots that enable users to share content with one another, or that search the live internet in response to user prompts, are regulated under the Online Safety Act and covered by the illegal content and children's safety duties. The largest user-to-user services will also need to enforce their terms of service, such as where they prohibit AI-generated content which is deceptive. Companies that do not comply can expect to face enforcement action from Ofcom.
The Department meets regularly with technology companies and Ofcom to discuss how they can better protect people in the UK from illegal and harmful content online, including from chatbots. We will continue to work closely with industry and Ofcom to address emerging risks and uphold strong online safety protections.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions her Department has had with AI companies on the publication on the internet of defamatory comments towards humans by autonomous bots.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
A range of rules already apply to AI systems, such as data protection, competition, equality legislation and other forms of sector regulation. The UK has well established defamation laws, and our data protection laws also apply to personal data processed in the context of AI. We continue to monitor developments in the common law in this area.
AI services including chatbots that enable users to share content with one another, or that search the live internet in response to user prompts, are regulated under the Online Safety Act and covered by the illegal content and children's safety duties. The largest user-to-user services will also need to enforce their terms of service, such as where they prohibit AI-generated content which is deceptive. Companies that do not comply can expect to face enforcement action from Ofcom.
The Department meets regularly with technology companies and Ofcom to discuss how they can better protect people in the UK from illegal and harmful content online, including from chatbots. We will continue to work closely with industry and Ofcom to address emerging risks and uphold strong online safety protections.
Asked by: Anneliese Dodds (Labour (Co-op) - Oxford East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Sudanese nationals with student visas claimed asylum in the UK in the last five years.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Home Office publishes breakdowns of the number of people claiming asylum after entering the UK with a visa or other leave, by nationality and latest leave held prior to claim, for the top five nationalities in Asy_01e. This table does not currently include a full nationality breakdown. The total number of people claiming asylum after entering the UK on a visa or other leave is published in Asy_01d for Sudan.
The Home Office does publish a full nationality breakdown of data on asylum claims and initial decisions, in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. The latest data relates to the year ending December 2025.
A full Impact Assessment has been published for the Visa Brake policy; see Table 1 for historic volumes of asylum claims linked to visa for the relevant nationalities and routes in scope of the Brake.
Official statistics published by the Home Office are kept under review in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, taking into account a number of factors including user needs, the resources required to compile the statistics, as well as quality and availability of data. These reviews allow us to balance the production of our regular statistics whilst developing new statistics for future release.