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.

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.