PETITIONOpenPetition · petition.parliament.uk
Reverse the visa brake on student visa applications from Afghan nationals
Reverse the visa brake on Afghan student visa applications. In 2025, only 277 Afghan students received UK visas, 0.07% of all student visas. This is not an unsustainable crisis. We ask the Government to restore fair, safe educational pathways for students fleeing Taliban rule.
Last fetched 03 May 2026 · petition.parliament.uk
Signatures
90
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 90/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 90/100,000
Background
Afghan women can't attend university under the Taliban. Now they get student visas for the UK either. This double exclusion affects real people with real futures. In 2021, the Taliban banned girls from school and then from university. We think the visa brake eliminates one of the few remaining safe routes & that the UK has the moral obligation to maintain pathways for students fleeing authoritarian regimes. Education is a right, not a privilege. Reversing the visa brake upholds that principle.