Blanket bans on international students claiming asylum from certain nationalities is discrimination.
In the immediate aftermath of Reform’s gains in England’s local elections in early May, the Government’s recent proposals to clamp down on the right to claim asylum, signal an ever-increasing dedication to be the “toughest” party on migration, with complete disregard to the human impact.
A new white paper setting out the proposals in mid-May will include clearly discriminatory measures to prevent those with Pakistani, Nigerian and Sri Lankan nationalities from acquiring international student visas, based on the Government’s demonising assessments that these nationalities are more likely to ‘abuse’ the system by claiming asylum.
Clamping down on the ability of international students to claim asylum shows a complete misunderstanding, ignorance and disregard to how they can end up needing to seek safety. There are many reasons why someone would go on to claim asylum after having arrived in the UK as an international student, such as an escalation of conflict in their country of origin or the introduction of laws that lead to an increased targeting of LGBTQ+ people and religious minorities. Given how difficult it already is to claim asylum, policies that attempt to demonise people for seeking safety are incredibly cruel. We have frequently spoken about the inhumane policies and legislation that affect both international students, and those seeking asylum. Insinuating that international students would be better off once they claim asylum is incredibly disingenuous, as many people seeking safety would attest to the dehumanising and isolating conditions of the asylum system.
Officials will be instructed to use bank statements submitted by visa holders as part of their assessment when assessing an asylum claim in order to place them in asylum accommodation e.g. a hotel. Since the plans were revealed by The Guardian on Saturday, further developments signal that the Home Office is attempting to “build intelligence to enable caseworkers to spot patterns in the profiles of people who are most likely to abuse work and study visas as a loophole to claim asylum.”
These proposals also show the hypocrisy of the immigration system in punishing those who are using a so-called “safe and legal” route to claim asylum. The Government has downgraded the right to asylum to a mere privilege.
The impact of the Hostile Environment on international students is often overlooked, but we know that they face increasing restrictions on their immigration status. If you’re interested in learning more about these issues, check out our research as well as our specific resources for international students.
Co-creation and being migrant-centred are core values at MRN. If you’re worried about this change and want to help us challenge it, get in touch by emailing [email protected]