British universities are withdrawing admission offers from international applicants, including large numbers of Nigerian students, as they seek to protect their licences to recruit overseas students under stricter UK government visa rules.
According to analysis of Home Office data reported by the Financial Times, 10.5 per cent of study visa applications to the UK were withdrawn in the first half of 2026, up sharply from 2.3 per cent in the same period of 2025 and just 0.4 per cent in 2023.
Nigerian applicants have been particularly affected. The withdrawal rate for study visa applications from Nigeria rose to 22.7 per cent in the first six months of 2026, compared with 4.5 per cent a year earlier.
Pakistan recorded the highest rate at 40.9 per cent (up from 3 per cent), while Bangladesh stood at 23.5 per cent (up from 7.1 per cent) and India at 5.2 per cent (up from 1.2 per cent).The surge follows tighter Home Office rules that took effect in June 2026.
Universities must now keep their visa refusal rate below 5 per cent (previously 10 per cent) or risk being barred from recruiting international students. Institutions that exceed the threshold face a “red” rating under the Basic Compliance Assessment, with repeated breaches potentially leading to suspension or revocation of their sponsor licences.
Home Office refusals of study visas roughly doubled in the first half of 2026 compared with the previous year, driven largely by increased scrutiny of nationalities the government associates with higher rates of asylum claims after arrival.
In response, many universities have begun pre-emptively withdrawing offers to keep their overall refusal rates under the new limit.
About 15 universities are reported to have suspended recruitment from Pakistan entirely this year.University leaders have warned that the crackdown threatens a major source of income and could lead to job losses and course closures.
Sir David Bell, vice-chancellor of the University of Sunderland, noted that the unexpected rise in visa refusals has prompted institutions to pull back from markets facing tougher visa scrutiny.
The changes leave many prospective international students, particularly from Nigeria, Pakistan and Bangladesh, in uncertainty after receiving and then losing university places.
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