UK Universities Withdraw Nigerian Student Admissions Amid Visa Issues

Universities in the United Kingdom are withdrawing admission offers to Nigerian students as a result of stricter immigration rules that have led to a significant increase in study visa refusals. A report by the Financial Times indicates that 10.5% of UK study visa applications were withdrawn in the first half of 2026, up from 2.3% in 2025 and 0.4% in 2023.

For Nigerian applicants, the withdrawal rate soared to 22.7% during the same period, compared to 4.5% in 2025. Universities are concerned that high visa refusal rates could threaten their ability to recruit international students, as new regulations require institutions to maintain a visa refusal rate of less than 5%.

This is a reduction from the previous threshold of 10%. Additionally, the minimum enrolment rate has increased from 90% to 95%.

Institutions are incentivized to withdraw sponsorship before a visa application decision is made to avoid negative impacts on their compliance status.