Overview
- In June 2025, the higher‑education ministry approved funding and recognition for select universities in the US, Australia, France and Israel but deliberately left out the UK, according to people familiar with the decision.
- Officials tied the exclusion to concerns about Islamist radicalisation on British campuses and to longstanding frustration that the UK has not banned the Muslim Brotherhood.
- Degrees from institutions not on the UAE’s list will not be officially recognised, though students already enrolled in the UK may keep support and wealthier families can still self‑fund.
- UK data show 70 university referrals to the Prevent programme for possible Islamist radicalisation in 2023–24 out of nearly three million students, and UK officials have stressed academic freedom in response.
- The policy shift coincides with a drop to 213 Emirati study visas for the UK in the year to September 2025 and comes alongside broader frictions even as British universities expand campuses in Dubai.