withdrawn applications from Pakistani students rose to 40.9%
UK universities are revoking offers to international students from countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria amid a visa crackdown.
According to the Financial Times, this is to avoid breaching stricter visa refusal thresholds that could bar them from recruiting overseas students.
The move follows a sharp increase in withdrawn study visa applications during the first half of 2026, as universities respond to tighter government rules.
Home Office data found that 10.5% of UK study visa applications were withdrawn between January and June 2026. This compares with 2.3% during the same period in 2025 and 0.4% in 2023.
The proportion of withdrawn applications from Pakistani students rose to 40.9% in the first six months of 2026, up from 3% a year earlier.
For Bangladeshi applicants, the rate increased from 7.1% to 23.5%, while India’s figure rose from 1.2% to 5.2%.
The increase comes as the UK government tightens the rules governing universities that sponsor international students.
Institutions where more than 5% of prospective overseas students have their visa applications rejected now risk losing the right to recruit them, down from the previous threshold of 10%.
Universities have said the rise in withdrawals largely reflects their decision to revoke admission offers before students submit or complete their visa applications.
International students can apply for study visas only after receiving university offers, meaning applications are withdrawn when those offers are revoked.
The Home Office doubled the number of study visa refusals in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025.
The increase has been concentrated among nationalities the government suspects of using student visas as a route to claim asylum.
Around 15 UK universities are believed to have suspended recruitment from Pakistan entirely this year, according to figures from the higher education sector.
Data from visa-processing company Enroly also suggests that refusal rates at nearly half of universities exceed the new 5% threshold.
Sir David Bell, vice-chancellor of the University of Sunderland, said the unexpected increase in refusals had prompted universities to take pre-emptive action by reducing recruitment from countries facing tougher scrutiny.
Jamie Arrowsmith, director of Universities UK International, said visa processing had become “markedly less predictable”.
He added: “Many refusals appear to rest on flawed, inconsistent and highly subjective reasoning, forcing universities to withdraw offers at scale to avoid breaching compliance thresholds.”
Universities have raised concerns about the reasons given for some visa refusals.
Professor Steven McGuire, deputy vice-chancellor of the University of East Anglia, said his institution began withdrawing offers from some countries late last year after refusals increased sharply.
He described some decisions as “arbitrary and ill-informed”, including one in which an interviewer appeared not to understand that the university was based in Norwich.
The policy is also raising concerns about the financial impact on higher education institutions.
International student fees are a major source of income for UK universities, many of which are already facing declining overseas applications amid tighter visa rules and growing global competition.
Vanessa Wilson, chief executive of University Alliance, warned that the pressure could lead to restructuring, job losses and course and campus closures.
James Miller, vice-chancellor of the University of the West of Scotland, said some universities had stopped recruiting from certain regions to keep refusal rates below the threshold.
He warned that overseas student numbers could fall by more than 20% at many institutions this year.
