UK universities withdraw admission offers to Nigerians following visa crackdown

Universities in the United Kingdom are withdrawing admission offers to international applicants, including Nigerians and Pakistanis, amid concerns that rising visa refusal rates could threaten their ability to recruit overseas students, according to the Financial Times.

The newspaper’s analysis of Home Office data showed that 22.7 per cent of Nigerian study visa applications were withdrawn in the first half of 2026, compared with 4.5 per cent during the same period in 2025.

Withdrawals among Pakistani applicants rose from three per cent to 40.9 per cent, while Bangladesh’s rate increased from 7.1 per cent to 23.5 per cent. For Indian applicants, the proportion rose from 1.2 per cent to 5.2 per cent. Overall, 10.5 per cent of study visa applications were withdrawn in the first six months of 2026, up from 2.3 per cent a year earlier and 0.4 per cent in 2023.

International applicants can apply for a study visa only after receiving a university offer. If an institution subsequently revokes the offer, the visa application is withdrawn. Although applications may be withdrawn for other reasons, universities said the increase was largely driven by institutions rescinding offers. They attributed the action to a doubling of study visa refusals in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year, alongside tighter rules governing their sponsorship of international students.

Under the revised requirements, institutions risk being barred from recruiting overseas students if more than five per cent of applicants given offers subsequently have their visa applications rejected. The previous threshold was 10 per cent. According to the report, refusals have risen particularly among nationalities the government suspects of using the student visa route to seek asylum.

About 15 universities are thought to have suspended recruitment from Pakistan entirely this year. Data from visa-processing company Enroly suggests that refusal rates at almost half of universities exceed the five per cent threshold. University of Sunderland Vice-Chancellor Sir David Bell said institutions were taking preventive action.

“The recent and unexpected spike in visa refusals has prompted pre-emptive action in several universities. This has involved pulling back from international markets where a tougher approach is being taken to visa applications.” Jamie Arrowsmith, director of Universities UK International, acknowledged the importance of maintaining confidence in the immigration system but said “visa processing has become markedly less predictable”.

“Many refusals appear to rest on flawed, inconsistent and highly subjective reasoning, forcing universities to withdraw offers at scale to avoid breaching compliance thresholds,” he added. University leaders warned that the restrictions could deepen financial pressures as tougher immigration rules and international competition reduce overseas applications and threaten a crucial source of income.

“This is going to result in restructures, which inevitably results in job losses, course closures, campus closures,” said Vanessa Wilson, chief executive of University Alliance, which represents 20 professional and technical universities. Institutions cited cases in which applicants were refused visas because they had previously considered studying in other countries. Another involved a PhD applicant being asked to name course modules, despite the research degree having none.

Professor Steven McGuire, deputy vice-chancellor of the University of East Anglia, said his institution began withdrawing offers from certain countries late last year following a sharp increase in refusals. “We were getting some very arbitrary and ill-informed refusals,” he said. “We had one where the interviewer did not seem to understand that UEA was in Norwich [and so rejected the applicant for not knowing where they were going to study].”

McGuire warned that the policy could push universities to “double down on China and India”, where refusal rates were lower. As international fee income declined, institutions were “running out of options except a very significant resizing of the sector”, he added.

Professor James Miller, vice-chancellor of the University of the West of Scotland and convener of Universities Scotland, described some refusals as “extremely spurious”. He said the Home Office had offered “no real explanation [for the increase] other than concern about number of students claiming asylum”. Some universities had “stopped recruiting from certain geographical areas to keep refusal rates below 5 per cent”, he added.

Miller warned that many institutions could experience a decline of more than 20 per cent in overseas student numbers this year, making job cuts “inevitable” without a change in policy. “It’s harming the UK’s reputation, it’s contrary to other government policies and at an individual level it’s denying opportunity to people who want to advance their careers and their lives,” he said.

The Home Office said international students “make a positive contribution” to Britain, but added that “this must not be at the expense of recruiting responsibly, in turn protecting the integrity of our immigration system”. It said universities were being offered “support where needed to improve recruitment practices”.