Do you want to study in the UK? "Universities withdraw offers, 10% study visas rejected" - What Indian students should know

UK universities are reportedly withdrawing offers to international applicants en masse, fearing a government crackdown on visas and the resulting “open-ended ban” on international student recruitment.

This is in response to a doubling of the number of study visas refused by the Home Office in the first six months of 2026, the Financial Times reports.

What students need to know

According to the report, international students can apply for a study visa only after receiving an offer from the university. This would mean that the visa application will be withdrawn if the offer is later withdrawn.

While visa applications can be withdrawn for other reasons, universities said the main reason was an increase in the number of offers they revoked.

They told the FT this was in response to a doubling of the number of study visas refused by the Home Office in the first six months of 2026 compared to the same period the previous year, which coincided with a tightening of rules allowing universities to sponsor international students.

Institutions where more than 5 per cent of potential international students who were made offers subsequently had their visa applications rejected are now at risk of being banned from taking them, down from 10 per cent previously, the FT said.

What data do they reveal?

Up to 10.5 per cent of UK study visa applications were withdrawn in the first half of this year, the report said. That’s up from 2.3 percent withdrawn in the same period last year and 0.4 percent in 2023.

Some 40.9 per cent of potential students from Pakistan had their visa applications withdrawn in the first six months of this year, up from 3 per cent in the same period last year, according to an FT analysis of Home Office data.

What is the reason for rejection of study visas?

The rise in student visa rejections by the Home Office is said to be due to a larger increase in rejections from nationalities the British government suspects of using the asylum route.

This was reflected in universities withdrawing offers.

About 15 universities are believed to have completely suspended recruitment from Pakistan this year, according to figures in the higher education sector.

In addition, 22.7 percent of Nigerian study visa applications were withdrawn in the first half of this year, up from 4.5 percent in the first half of 2025. The share of withdrawn applications in Bangladesh increased from 7.1 percent to 23.5 percent and in India from 1.2 percent to 5.2 percent.

Data from Enroly, which processes visa applicants, suggests that rejection rates at almost half of universities exceed the five percent threshold, which could result in a ban on international student recruitment.

Sir David Bell, vice-chancellor of the University of Sunderland, said: “The recent and unexpected increase in visa refusals has prompted several universities to take precautionary measures. This has included withdrawing from international markets where visa applications are treated more harshly.”

Jamie Arrowsmith, director of Universities UK International, which represents institutions recruiting abroad, acknowledged the need to maintain confidence in the immigration system, but said “visa processing has become significantly less predictable”.

“Many rejections appear to be based on flawed, inconsistent and highly subjective reasoning, forcing universities to withdraw offers en masse to avoid exceeding compliance limits,” he added.

Universities reportedly cited examples of visas being refused because applicants had previously considered studying in other countries or because a PhD applicant could not name course modules even though they did not exist for such research degrees.

Professor Steven McGuire, deputy vice-chancellor of the University of East Anglia, said the institution began withdrawing offers from certain countries at the end of last year after a significant increase in visa refusals.

“We were getting very arbitrary and ill-informed denials,” he said. “We had one where the interviewer didn’t seem to understand that UEA was in Norwich (so they rejected the applicant because he didn’t know where they were going to study).”

(With inputs from the Financial Times)