UK varsities withdraw admission offers to Nigerians

Some United Kingdom universities have withdrawn the admissions of Nigerian students due to an ongoing visa crackdown by the British government impacting international applicants.

The universities revoked admissions given mostly to Nigerian and Pakistani applicants in the first half of 2026, driven by tightening rules from the Home Office regarding visas for international students.

According to a Financial Times report on Saturday, a study showed that 10.5 per cent of study visa applications to the UK ended up being withdrawn, up from 2.3 per cent in the same period last year and 0.4 per cent in 2023.

“Universities are revoking offers en masse made to international applicants from countries including Nigeria and Pakistan as they fear the UK government’s visa crackdown will result in a ban on their recruiting international students,” the report stated.

The Financial Times noted that the institutions clarified they revoked admissions in reaction to a doubling in the number of study visas refused by the Home Office during the first six months of 2026.

The report stated that 22.7 per cent of study visa applications from Nigeria were withdrawn in the first half of this year, compared to 4.5 per cent in the first half of 2025.

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“While visa applications can be withdrawn for other reasons, universities said the main driver had been an increase in their revoking offers,” it added.

The British publication further stated that the surge in Home Office study visa rejections has been driven by a higher increase in refusals from applicants suspected by the UK government of using the route to make asylum claims.

Data from visa processing application firm Enroly indicates that nearly half of universities have refusal rates above the five per cent threshold, which could lead to a ban on recruiting international students.

Speaking on the repercussions of the visa revocations, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sunderland, Sir David Bell, said, “This has involved pulling back from international markets where a tougher approach is being taken to visa applications”.

Vanessa Wilson, chief executive of University Alliance, a group of 20 professional and technical universities, warned, “This is going to result in restructures, which inevitably result in job losses, course closures, campus closures”.