UK universities are withdrawing admission offers to Nigerian students and other international applicants as rising visa refusal rates and tighter immigration rules put pressure on institutions recruiting overseas, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The changes are affecting applicants from several countries, including Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India, with universities increasingly concerned that visa refusals could push them above the government’s compliance limits and threaten their ability to admit international students.
An analysis of Home Office data by the Financial Times found that 22.7 per cent of Nigerian study visa applications were withdrawn in the first half of 2026, compared with 4.5 per cent during the same period in 2025. The rate for Pakistani applicants rose sharply from 3 per cent to 40.9 per cent. Bangladesh’s withdrawal rate increased from 7.1 per cent to 23.5 per cent, while India’s rose from 1.2 per cent to 5.2 per cent.
Across all nationalities, 10.5 per cent of study visa applications were withdrawn between January and June 2026, up from 2.3 per cent in the same period a year earlier and 0.4 per cent in 2023.
International students must receive an offer from a university before applying for a UK student visa. When a university later withdraws that offer, the associated visa application is also withdrawn. Although applications can be withdrawn for other reasons, universities told the Financial Times that institutions rescinding admission offers were a major factor behind the increase.
Universities say they are taking these steps partly because study visa refusals doubled in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. Under revised government requirements, institutions risk losing their ability to recruit international students if more than 5 per cent of applicants they have offered places subsequently have their visa applications refused. The previous limit was 10 per cent.
The stricter threshold has created additional pressure for universities that depend on overseas students for tuition income. According to the Financial Times report, refusals have increased particularly among nationalities whose applicants the government suspects may use the student visa route to claim asylum.
Around 15 UK universities are believed to have suspended recruitment from Pakistan entirely this year. Data from visa-processing company Enroly also suggests that refusal rates at almost half of universities exceed the new 5 per cent threshold.
Sir David Bell, vice-chancellor of the University of Sunderland, said universities had begun acting in anticipation of further restrictions.
“The recent and unexpected spike in visa refusals has prompted pre-emptive action in several universities,” Bell said. He added that some institutions had pulled back from international markets where visa applications were facing a tougher assessment.
Jamie Arrowsmith, director of Universities UK International, said maintaining public confidence in the immigration system was important, but questioned the consistency of the visa process.
“Visa processing has become markedly less predictable,” he said.
Arrowsmith added that many refusals appeared to rely on flawed, inconsistent or highly subjective reasoning. He argued that universities were responding by withdrawing admission offers on a large scale to avoid breaching the rules governing international recruitment.
University leaders warn that the restrictions could worsen financial difficulties across the higher education sector. Institutions are already facing pressure from tighter immigration policies, increased international competition and uncertainty over the number of overseas students they can recruit.
Vanessa Wilson, chief executive of University Alliance, which represents 20 professional and technical universities, warned that the consequences could extend beyond admissions.
“This is going to result in restructures, which inevitably results in job losses, course closures, campus closures,” Wilson said.
Universities have also raised concerns about the reasons given for some visa refusals. Reported cases include applicants being rejected after previously considering studying in other countries. In another case, a PhD applicant was asked to identify course modules even though the research degree did not have any.
Professor Steven McGuire, deputy vice-chancellor of the University of East Anglia, said his institution began withdrawing offers from applicants in certain countries late last year after refusals increased sharply.
“We were getting some very arbitrary and ill-informed refusals,” McGuire said.
He described one case in which a visa interviewer appeared not to understand that the university was based in Norwich, resulting in an applicant being rejected for not knowing where they would study.
McGuire warned that the restrictions could lead universities to concentrate more heavily on countries such as China and India, where visa refusal rates had been lower. Such a shift could reduce opportunities for applicants from other countries, including Nigeria and Pakistan.
He also warned that declining international fee income was leaving universities with fewer options than before, potentially forcing substantial reductions across the sector.
Professor James Miller, vice-chancellor of the University of the West of Scotland and convener of Universities Scotland, also criticised the quality of some visa refusals, describing them as “extremely spurious”.
Miller said the Home Office had offered no clear explanation for the increase beyond concerns about the number of students claiming asylum. He added that some universities had stopped recruiting from particular regions to keep their refusal rates below the 5 per cent limit.
Miller warned that some institutions could see overseas student numbers fall by more than 20 per cent this year. Without a policy change, he said, job losses would be difficult to avoid.
“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 defended the government’s approach, saying international students make a positive contribution to Britain. However, it maintained that universities must recruit responsibly to protect the integrity of the immigration system.
The department said it was providing support to institutions where necessary to improve their recruitment practices.
For Nigerian students planning to study in the UK, the developments introduce further uncertainty into an already important stage of the application process. University admission alone does not guarantee a visa, and institutions facing pressure to keep refusal rates within the permitted limit may reconsider offers before applicants can complete their plans to study abroad.
