The Federal Investigation Agency told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that illegal migration routes are shifting toward Cambodia and Azerbaijan, with non-return rates rising sharply in both countries. The agency also warned that around 10,000 Pakistanis had misused British student visas through asylum claims, despite Pakistan being the third-largest recipient of UK student visas.
Why are Pakistanis increasingly not returning from Cambodia and Azerbaijan?
Cambodia and Azerbaijan have been identified as transit points on illegal migration routes, not final destinations. Pakistanis travelling on tourist or visit visas are using these countries as stepping stones to reach Europe and beyond. More than 80 percent of non-returnees from both countries had travelled on tourist or visit visas.
The Cambodia figures were among the most striking in the FIA presentation. Of the 13,039 Pakistanis who travelled to Cambodia in 2024, 9.13 percent did not return. By 2025 that figure had risen to 16.83 percent of 11,488 departures. In the first months of 2026, 47.85 percent of the 395 who departed had not returned, bringing the total number of non-returnees from Cambodia since 2024 to 3,312.
Azerbaijan showed a similar pattern on a larger scale. A total of 106,634 Pakistanis travelled to Azerbaijan between 2024 and 2026, of whom 7,721 did not return. The non-return rate jumped from around five percent in both 2024 and 2025 to nearly 18 percent in the first months of 2026.
What illegal migration routes is the FIA tracking?
The FIA presentation identified several active corridors. One route ran from Pakistan to Thailand to Cambodia. Another went from Pakistan to Malaysia and then on to Libya, Egypt, or Azerbaijan. A third route passed through Central Asia, from Pakistan to Uzbekistan to Belarus to Poland.
The 580 Pakistanis who had not returned from Belarus were also flagged, as illegal border crossings from Belarus into Poland had drawn serious concern from the European Union. High-level EU and Italian delegations had raised the issue of illegal Pakistani migration with Islamabad directly.
How many Pakistanis have misused UK student visas through asylum claims?
Around 10,000 Pakistani students entered the UK on legitimate visas and later filed asylum claims, according to the FIA. Pakistan has emerged as the top nationality seeking asylum in the UK. The FIA flagged this as a significant warning sign, given that the UK had already banned student visas for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan over similar patterns, and that eight British universities had banned student visa issuance for Bangladeshi nationals.
DG FIA Usman Anwar presented the findings to the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior. The agency noted that Pakistan ranks as the third-largest recipient of British student visas, making the scale of asylum claims a reputational risk for the country's broader migration profile.
How many passengers did the FIA offload at Pakistani airports in 2025?
The FIA prevented 39,786 passengers from boarding flights in 2025. The leading reason was travel without required documents, accounting for 20,408 cases. A further 12,673 passengers were offloaded for low-profile or suspicious travel patterns, covering high-risk destinations, age, and stated purpose of travel. Another 3,450 were on stop lists or flagged by Interpol, 281 carried forged documents, and 258 cases involved underage travel concerns.
An additional 34,688 passengers were offloaded for non-FIA reasons, including 30,021 due to airline technical issues, cancellations, or weather disruptions, and 3,617 who offloaded themselves.
What progress has the FIA made in reducing illegal migration?
Illegal migration toward Europe fell by 26 percent in 2025, according to European border agency Frontex, with a 64 percent decrease recorded when comparing January to February figures between 2025 and 2026. Deportations linked to organized begging dropped by 75 percent, those involving forged or fake documents fell by 31 percent, and overall deportations were down 16 percent in 2025.
The FIA attributed part of this improvement to a Risk Analysis Unit established in September 2024, modelled on Frontex. The unit developed five risk profiles covering begging abroad and illegal migration to Europe, East Asia, Central Asia, and Africa. The agency also said 132 enquiries had been registered against officers, resulting in 68 major and 36 minor punishments.
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