Nigerians, Pakistanis and Sri Lankans face UK student visa crackdown

The government is working with the National Crime Agency to build models to profile applicants from these countries who are likely to go on to claim asylum, Guardian reported.

Whether such a scheme would be successful depends on the strength of the models and the intelligence they work with, according to a migration expert.

Nearly 10,000 asylum claimants who had arrived in the UK legally on work or study visas were living in taxpayer-funded accommodation, such as hotels, at some point last year.

Data disclosed by the Home Office in March showed that of those asylum seekers who had originally entered on a visa but then ended up in government accommodation, the most common nationalities were Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.

The Guardian revealed on Saturday that the government planned to reduce the numbers of UK student visa holders who make asylum claims.

Officials will be instructed to use the bank statements submitted by visa holders as part of their assessment when deciding whether to grant them asylum accommodation.

According to the Times, 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. They have earmarked Pakistani, Nigerian and Sri Lankan visa holders as the most likely to go on to apply for asylum.