New student visa rules introduced for the UK
Key Points
- The UK is raising the pass marks universities must meet to sponsor international student visas, covering refusal, enrolment and completion rates.
- Institutions must keep visa refusals below 5%, hit 95% enrolment and reach 90% course completion.
- A traffic light rating system launches in summer 2027, with red rated universities facing recruitment caps and 12 month action plans.
- A first of its kind visa brake now applies to study visas for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan.
- Student asylum claims have fallen 30% in the past year, while net migration is down 74%.
The UK government will introduce stricter sponsorship rules that could strip universities of the right to recruit international students if too many drop out, miss enrolment targets or have their visas refused, the Home Office has announced.
The new rules introduce a sliding scale of penalties for higher education institutions that fail to recruit responsibly.
Minister for Migration and Citizenship Mike Tapp set out the measures during a visit to Manchester Metropolitan University, hosted by Universities UK. The changes raise the pass marks of the annual test that monitors visa sponsors across all three of its metrics.
What the new pass marks require
Institutions must now keep their visa refusal rate below 5%, down from the previous threshold of 10%. They must reach a course enrolment rate of at least 95%, up from 90%. They must also achieve a course completion rate of at least 90%, up from 85%.
According to the Home Office, high drop out rates can indicate that students have entered the illegal working economy rather than studied, while high visa rejection rates or low enrolment figures suggest some institutions have not done enough due diligence on applicants.
Traffic light ratings from 2027
From summer 2027, a new traffic light rating system will show regulators and the public which institutions recruit responsibly.
Institutions rated red will face restrictions on the number of students they can recruit and must fund a 12 month action plan to fix failing practices. Those that do not improve face losing international student recruitment rights altogether.
Tapp said the UK will always welcome genuine international students and that its universities are admired around the world. He said the visa system must not be used as a backdoor to asylum and illegal working, and that those seeking to game the system should know the government is watching and will not hesitate to act.
The Home Office said asylum claims from work, study and tourist visas more than tripled under the previous government, reaching 37% of all claims, with foreign students accounting for the largest share.
Student asylum claims have since fallen by 30% in the past year following action taken in partnership with the sector.
The Home Secretary has also imposed a first of its kind visa brake on study visas for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan following a surge in asylum claims.
Move backed by universities
Malcolm Press, President of Universities UK, said the sector is fully committed to protecting the integrity of the visa system and to working with the Home Office.
He said international students bring significant economic and soft power benefits, contributing £37 billion in export earnings.
Press said recent sharp declines in international student income have led to substantial cost cutting and job losses, and called for policy stability, transparent visa decision making and real time data to act on emerging concerns.
The Home Office said it is also exploring new ways to share data with the education sector within a data protection framework, and urged institutions to share intelligence across the sector.
Since last summer, the department has contacted 306,000 students whose visas are due to expire, warning that meritless asylum claims will be refused and that those without the right to remain must leave or face removal.
The Home Office said net migration has now fallen by 74%.
