Some UK universities withdraw offers amid 5% visa refusal limit
World
Some UK universities are now pulling back admission offers to students from India, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Bangladesh.
This comes after new rules kicked in on June 1, 2026, forcing universities to keep their visa refusal rates below 5%, a big drop from the previous 10%.
If they repeatedly fail to meet that limit, they can face enforcement action and then lose their student sponsor license.
Universities' withdrawals highest in Pakistan 40.9%
To avoid getting penalized under these stricter rules, some universities are preemptively withdrawing offers from applicants they think might get denied a visa.
This has led to a sharp rise in withdrawn applications: Pakistan saw the highest rate at 40.9%, with Bangladesh at 23.5% and Nigeria at 22.7%.