Universities in the United Kingdom are withdrawing admission offers to international applicants, including Nigerians and Pakistanis, amid fears that rising student visa refusals could lead to a ban on recruiting overseas students. According to an analysis of Home Office data by the Financial Times, 22.7 per cent of study visa applications from Nigerians were withdrawn in the first half of 2026, up from 4.5 per cent in the same period of 2025. For Pakistani applicants, the proportion rose from 3 per cent to 40.9 per cent, while Bangladesh's rate increased from 7.1 per cent to 23.5 per cent. Overall, withdrawn applications rose to 10.5 per cent in the first half of 2026, compared with 2.3 per cent a year earlier, with universities attributing the withdrawals largely to a doubling of student visa refusals and stricter rules that put institutions at risk of losing their licences to recruit international students.
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