UK VARSITIES WITHDRAW ADMISSION OFFERS TO NIGERIANS
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Some universities in the United Kingdom have canceled the admission of Nigerian students because of a new policy by the British government that is making it harder for international students to get visas.
Most of the admissions that were canceled were for Nigerian and Pakistani students in the first half of 2026.
This happened because the Home Office, which handles visas, has made the rules more strict for international students.
A report by the Financial Times says that 10.5% of study visa applications to the UK were rejected, which is much higher than the 2.3% rejected in the same period last year and the 0.4% 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The report stated that 22.7 per cent of study visa applications from Nigeria were withdrawn in the first half of this year, compared to 4.5 per cent in the first half of 2025.
“While visa applications can be withdrawn for other reasons, universities said the main driver had been an increase in their revoking offers,” it added.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”.
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