Speaking at The PIE Live Europe 2026, Sir Steve said he expected there would be “further visa brakes”, following the government’s halting of study visa issuance to nationals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Cameroon and Sudan.
The policy, which takes effect from today (March 26), comes in response to a rise in asylum applications from UK visa holders from the four countries, which the Home Office said had increased by more than 470% in four years.
“Some people will come and will claim asylum, that’s entirely understandable. But when you look at the numbers, it looks as if something else is going on,” said Sir Steve.
“They started with the countries where the increase has been greatest,” he explained: “The numbers are small… but it’s part of that balanced deal about how we make sure that people are not using the student route for other reasons.”
Sir Steve hailed the government’s international education strategy (IES) published earlier this year – which he led on – as a win for the sector, highlighting the notable absence of an international student limit and promising greater policy consistency.
“Given the salience of immigration politics around the world, we were extremely pleased not to get a numerical target,” said Sir Steve, welcoming the government’s commitment to continuing the Graduate Route as another positive signal.
But he doubled down on the importance of strict compliance if the sector is to maintain international student growth, post-study work routes and welcoming rhetoric from the government.
“We need to make sure the sector is not unwittingly involved in a process whereby agents somewhere are selling the study route as a route to asylum. I think that’s a legitimate worry for government and it’s a legitimate issue for the sector to look at,” warned Sir Steve.
He said heightened compliance measures – including incoming Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) metrics and the controversial red-amber-green rating system are the “trade-off” for the relative policy stability in the UK, pointing to the caps implemented in Australia and Canada.
We need to make sure the sector is not unwittingly involved in a process whereby agents somewhere are selling the study route as a route to asylum
Sir Steve Smith, UK International Education Champion
But critics have said the new “visa brake” policy – which includes Chevening Scholars – was presented by the Home Office with unclear data and accompanied by misleading public statements implying “widespread abuse” of the student visa route, according to the Russell Group.
They added that the policy could impact international students’ perception of the UK and said prior sector consultation could have led to a more targeted intervention, given students from the four countries represent less than 0.6% of international students in the UK.
A separate issue of particular concern to Sir Steve was the practice of universities engineering student recruitment via MRes routes to circumnavigate tougher dependant visa laws, he said, highlighting the issue as “really problematic”.
Such matters are particularly salient amid the rise of protectionist politics around the world, heard delegates.
“If you’re the Prime Minister of the country and you’re worried about the numbers coming in, the one tap you can turn off very easily is international students,” said Sir Steve, urging delegates that everyone “must do their part to preserve that stability of the policy environment”.
