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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Culture & Society

UK to restrict universities sponsoring international students over visa abuse concerns

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • The UK is implementing stricter rules to prevent universities from sponsoring international students, aiming to curb visa abuse.
  • Universities must meet new compliance standards, including a visa refusal rate below 5%, to retain sponsorship rights.
  • The government seeks to reduce the number of individuals using student visas as a pathway to claim asylum or work illegally in the UK.

The United Kingdom is introducing stringent measures that could prohibit universities from sponsoring international students, as part of a broader strategy to combat alleged visa abuse and reduce asylum claims linked to student routes. The UK Home Office announced these reforms on Thursday, framing them as essential steps to close immigration loopholes associated with student visas.

universities will face a ban on recruiting international students if they fail to enforce new rules.

— UK Home OfficeAnnouncing the consequences for universities not complying with new student visa regulations.

Under the revised Basic Compliance Assessment framework, higher education institutions that sponsor student visas will be required to achieve a visa refusal rate below 5%. Additionally, they must maintain an enrolment rate of at least 95% and a course completion rate of at least 90%. Universities failing to meet these benchmarks risk a ban on recruiting international students. A "traffic light" compliance rating system for universities is slated for introduction in summer 2027.

The UK will always welcome genuine international students, and our universities are rightly admired around the world, but our visa system must not be used as a backdoor to asylum and illegal working.

— Mike TappMinister for Migration and Citizenship explaining the rationale behind the new visa rules.

Government officials stated that these changes are designed to prevent individuals from exploiting student visas for entry into the UK under false pretenses and to decrease the number of international students subsequently claiming asylum. Data from last month revealed that 10,835 individuals who entered the UK on study visas subsequently claimed asylum in the year ending March 2026. The UK issued 409,954 sponsored study visas during the same period.

Student asylum claims are down 30% in the last year. I thank the sector for their co-operation in achieving this, but we must go further.

— Mike TappHighlighting a reduction in student asylum claims while emphasizing the need for further action.

Minister for Migration and Citizenship, Mike Tapp, affirmed the UK's commitment to welcoming genuine international students but stressed the necessity of stronger safeguards. "Our visa system must not be used as a backdoor to asylum and illegal working," he stated, noting a 30% decrease in student asylum claims over the past year. Universities rated "red" under the upcoming system will face recruitment restrictions and must implement a 12-month improvement plan, with potential loss of sponsorship rights for persistent non-compliance.

Those seeking to game the system should know we are watching, and won’t hesitate to act.

— Mike TappIssuing a warning to individuals attempting to exploit the visa system.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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