Universities in the United Kingdom are withdrawing admission offers to international students, including those from India, Pakistan, Nigeria and Bangladesh, fearing that the UK government’s visa crackdown will result in a blanket ban on recruiting international students, the Financial Times reported.In a new rule since June 1, institutions have been required to keep visa refusals rate below 5% — down from 10%. Universities that repeatedly fail to meet the thresholds can face enforcement action and then lose their student sponsor licence.Basically, the UK government wants universities to have fewer student visa refusals. Some universities, worried about breaching the new threshold, are responding by withdrawing admission offers from applicants they think might be refused visas.International students are only able to apply for a study visa after receiving an offer from a university, meaning the visa application is withdrawn if the offer is later revoked. While visa applications can be withdrawn for other reasons, universities said the main driver had been an increase in their revoking offers.According to a Financial Times analysis of UK Home Office data, 10.5% of UK study visa applications were withdrawn in the first half of 2026, compared with 2.3% during the same period in 2025 and 0.4% in 2023. Universities have told the newspaper that withdrawing admission offers pre-emptively has been a major reason for the increase.Pakistan recorded the highest proportion of withdrawn applications among the nationalities highlighted in the analysis, at 40.9% in January-June 2026, compared with 3% in the corresponding period last year. Around 15 universities are thought to have suspended recruitment from Pakistan entirely this year.Bangladesh’s rate rose from 7.1% to 23.5%, while Nigeria’s increased from 4.5% to 22.7%.For Indian applicants, the proportion of withdrawn study visa applications increased from 1.2% in the first half of 2025 to 5.2% in the first half of 2026.These figures refer to withdrawn applications, not visa refusals, the FT clarified.
Universities raise concerns over student visa refusals
Sir David Bell, vice-chancellor of the University of Sunderland, told the FT that the unexpected rise in refusals had prompted universities to take pre-emptive action, including reducing recruitment from markets facing greater scrutiny.Professor Steven McGuire, deputy vice-chancellor of the University of East Anglia, told the FT that the university began withdrawing offers from applicants in certain countries towards the end of 2025 after refusals increased significantly.The UK government, however, maintains that tighter oversight is necessary to prevent abuse of the immigration system. Migration and Citizenship Minister Mike Tapp has said the country will continue to welcome genuine international students but that the student visa route must not be used as a means of accessing asylum or illegal employment.
