UK student visa applications plunge to five-year low, sparking funding worries

In September, the UK Home Office received 71,600 applications under the sponsored study visa route, down from 79,800 a year earlier and marking a five-year low. The decline continued a sharp August drop to 99,500, compared with 120,300 in August 2025 and 147,200 in August 2023. Across July to September, applications totalled about 230,000, a 26.4% fall from the 312,700 recorded in the same period in 2023.

The trend raises concerns about the UK's attractiveness to overseas students and the financial health of its higher-education sector, which relies heavily on international tuition fees. Since June 2026, universities must keep visa refusal rates below 5%, tightening the previous 10% threshold and prompting many institutions to adjust recruitment strategies in markets with high refusal rates, such as India, Pakistan and Nigeria.

Pakistani student visas fell to 19,600, roughly half the 37,000 granted in the prior 12 months. International tuition fees generated £12.4 billion in 2024/25, accounting for 23% of university income, while more than half of UK higher-education institutions are expected to report deficits later this year.