Overview
- At least nine institutions have labelled Pakistan and Bangladesh high risk and have suspended or limited admissions, including Chester, Wolverhampton, East London, Sunderland, Coventry, Hertfordshire, Oxford Brookes, Glasgow Caledonian and BPP University.
- Chester has halted recruitment from Pakistan until autumn 2026, Wolverhampton is rejecting undergraduate applications from both countries, and the University of East London has paused Pakistan intake entirely.
- Home Office changes effective in September cut the maximum sponsor refusal rate to 5%, while refusal rates for Pakistan and Bangladesh were 18% and 22% in the year to September 2025, accounting for half of 23,036 student visa refusals.
- Officials have reported a rise in asylum claims from people who first entered on study or work visas, and border security minister Dame Angela Eagle warned the student route must not be used as a backdoor to settlement.
- Sector fallout includes pauses later adjusted in places—Glasgow Caledonian reinstated some January starts—while Hertfordshire and Glasgow Caledonian are on action plans, and earlier estimates warned 22 institutions risk failing new criteria with five potentially losing sponsorship rights affecting about 12,000 students.