UK Universities Withdraw Admissions of Nigerian Students Amid Visa Crackdown

By: Tunji Okunlola

Some universities in the United Kingdom have withdrawn offers of admission made to Nigerian students, as a visa crackdown by the British government affects international applicants.

The institutions revoked offers made mostly to Nigerian and Pakistani applicants in the first half of 2026, following tighter Home Office rules on student visas.

Withdrawals Rise Sharply

According to a Financial Times report on Saturday, a study found that 10.5 per cent of study visa applications to the UK were withdrawn, up from 2.3 per cent in the same period last year and 0.4 per cent in 2023.

The report said 22.7 per cent of study visa applications from Nigeria were withdrawn in the first half of 2026, compared with 4.5 per cent in the first half of 2025.

The newspaper said universities were revoking offers because they feared the government’s crackdown could lead to a ban on their recruiting international students.

“While visa applications can be withdrawn for other reasons, universities said the main driver had been an increase in their revoking offers,” it added.

Rise in Visa Refusals

The Financial Times said the institutions explained that they acted in response to a doubling in the number of study visas refused by the Home Office in the first six months of 2026.

It added that the surge in refusals was driven largely by a rise in rejections of applicants the UK government suspects of using the study route to make asylum claims.

Data from visa-processing firm Enroly indicates that nearly half of universities have refusal rates above the five per cent threshold, which could lead to a ban on recruiting international students.

Universities Warn of Consequences

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sunderland, Sir David Bell, spoke on the impact of the withdrawals. “This has involved pulling back from international markets where a tougher approach is being taken to visa applications,” he said.

Vanessa Wilson, chief executive of University Alliance, a group of 20 professional and technical universities, warned: “This is going to result in restructures, which inevitably result in job losses, course closures, and campus closures.”