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3 hours ago
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Sudanese scientists who have been promised research posts at leading UK universities have spoken of their “shock” and “sadness” that their hopes have been dashed after Shabana Mahmood’s decision to end study visas for people from their country.
More than 200 Sudanese postgraduates and undergraduates fear they will no longer be permitted to take up places at 46 universities, including Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial College London, with some claiming that their lives have been torn apart by the home secretary’s “blunt” intervention.
On Wednesday, Mahmood suspended student visas for applicants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan, saying she was “taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity”.
“[Asylum] claims by students from Cameroon and Sudan spiked by more than 330%, posing an unsustainable threat to the UK’s asylum system,” a Home Office statement said.
Home Office sources said visa applications received from students in the four countries will be processed as usual until 26 March. However, it is “extremely unlikely” that they will also be able to acquire a valid “confirmation of acceptance for studies” before the cutoff.
Opponents say the government’s claims of visa exploitation are a distortion, given that just 120 Sudanese students applied for asylum in the year up to September, out of a total of more than 110,000 asylum claims.
Wijdan Abdallah Salman Ahmed, a 38-year-old molecular biologist living in Sudan, had been offered a place to study a master’s in regenerative medicine at Queen Mary University of London and was being considered for a Chevening scholarship before Mahmood’s policy change.
“When the war began in Sudan, my family and I were displaced to my grandfather’s home in a village near Shendi in River Nile State,” she said.
“The situation became even more difficult when attacks by the Rapid Support Forces led to our family losing nearly everything we owned, including my laptop.”
Discovering that the opportunity had gone because of a change in UK government policy was “such a shock”, she said.
“After everything it took to reach that point – displacement, loss of our possessions, and the long struggle simply to stay connected – it felt as though years of effort had suddenly collapsed because of a decision completely beyond my control,” she said.
Ahmed said there was no way she would have applied for asylum if she had been allowed to study in the UK.
“As an applicant to the Chevening scholarship, I formally agreed to the programme’s mandatory condition that scholars must return to their home country for at least two years.
“[Sudanese students] are not seeking asylum or permanent settlement. Most of us go to gain knowledge, skills, and connections that will help us rebuild and strengthen Sudan,” she said.
Students from Sudan have launched a campaign to lobby the UK government to abandon their plans. So far, they have identified 210 students from Sudan – 23 of whom are undergraduates – whose offers from 46 UK universities are now in doubt after Mahmood’s intervention.
Mohamed Hisham Alamin, a medical doctor, was accepted to study an MSc in translational health sciences at the University of Oxford from October, but understands that he will no longer be able to study in the UK under the new visa rules.
“My colleagues and I, who have been serving on the frontlines of the conflict in Sudan, were preparing to bring our expertise to Oxford to contribute to global health research,” he said.
He questioned why the government should penalise all students from Sudan.
“A blanket ban is a blunt and counterproductive instrument,” he said.
The Chevening scholarship programme for applicants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan has been closed indefinitely, according to the website.
Sudan, Cameroon and Myanmar are all in the midst of armed conflicts, while Afghanistan has faced a worsening humanitarian crisis since the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
The National Union of Students has written a letter to the home secretary urging her to reconsider and lift the ban.
A spokesperson for Oxford University said the ban was a matter of “serious concern” for many students.
“The university is working hard to clarify what the changes mean,” she said.
A government spokesperson said: “Study routes are being widely abused, creating a back door to claim asylum into this country. That is why we are taking unprecedented action to suspend routes from four countries.
“We cannot allow exceptions to study routes to prevent further abuse across our migration system.
“This does not detract from the UK’s steadfast commitment to bringing about an end to the conflict and supporting the people of Sudan.”
