UK universities restrict admissions for Pakistani and Bangladeshi students

Several leading UK universities have suspended or restricted admissions for students from Pakistan and Bangladesh, responding to tougher immigration controls and rising visa-refusal rates, according to a recent report by the Financial Times. 

Under new rules from the UK Home Office, institutions sponsoring international students must now keep the refusal rate for student-visa applications below 5 per cent, down from the previous 10 per cent. 

Yet visa refusal rates for Pakistani and Bangladeshi applicants remain alarmingly high: approximately 18 per cent and 22 per cent respectively in the year to September 2025, well above the permissible limit. 

As a result, at least nine higher-education institutions, including University of Chester, University of Wolverhampton, University of East London, University of Sunderland, Coventry University, University of Hertfordshire, Oxford Brookes University, Glasgow Caledonian University and private provider BPP University, have paused, limited, or deferred admissions from these “high-risk” countries. 

For example, the University of Chester has suspended recruitment from Pakistan through the autumn of 2026, citing a “recent and unexpected rise in visa refusals.” 

The University of Wolverhampton has halted undergraduate applications from both Pakistan and Bangladesh, while the University of East London has paused Pakistani applications entirely. 

The restriction comes amid a surge in asylum claims filed by international students, many of whom reportedly first entered the UK on study or work visas. UK ministers have warned that the study route “must not be used as a backdoor” to settlement. 

The impact on genuine hopefuls has been harsh. Education advisers in Pakistan described the move as “heart-breaking.” 

Many say weak oversight of recruitment agents has contributed to misuse of the student-visa route, turning it into what some have called a “moneymaking business.”

The rapid and sweeping decisions threaten to derail the study plans of thousands of prospective students, leaving them uncertain just weeks before some courses were due to begin.