The home secretary has failed to adequately explain why she singled out specific countries when she introduced a “brake” on student visas earlier this year, the High Court has heard.
The measure, which saw Shabana Mahmood’s department suspend applications for study visas for citizens of Afghanistan, Sudan, Cameroon and Myanmar, begs one “stark and critical question…Why have you chosen these countries?”, said lawyers representing a group of students currently barred from accepting places at British universities.
On the final day of a three-day hearing challenging the decision at the High Court, lawyers said that Mahmood’s decision “cries out for explanation”.
The Home Office’s legal team argued that there is a “very high level of risk” that people issued visas from the suspended countries would later go on to claim asylum, potentially contributing to abuse of the system.
Seven impacted students have brought the challenge after they were blocked from studying, despite receiving offers from leading institutions.
