Several universities in the United Kingdom have withdrawn admission offers to Nigerian students amid tougher visa rules and a sharp rise in study visa refusals.
A Financial Times report published on Saturday said 10.5 per cent of UK study visa applications were withdrawn in the first half of 2026, up from 2.3 per cent a year earlier and 0.4 per cent in 2023. For Nigerian applicants, the share rose to 22.7 per cent, from 4.5 per cent in the same period of 2025.
The withdrawals followed a doubling of visa refusals by the Home Office. Universities reportedly pulled offers to avoid breaching a new five per cent refusal threshold that could cost them their licence to recruit international students. Data from visa processing firm Enroly showed nearly half of UK universities were above that threshold.
The government has tightened scrutiny over concerns that some applicants use the student route to enter the country before claiming asylum.
Sir David Bell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sunderland, said: “This has involved pulling back from international markets where a tougher approach is being taken to visa applications.”
Vanessa Wilson, chief executive of University Alliance, which represents 20 professional and technical universities, warned of wider consequences. “This is going to result in restructures, which inevitably result in job losses, course closures, campus closures,” she said.
