Business Desk 
Dec 04, 2025
Several universities in the United Kingdom (UK) have suspended or restricted admissions for students from Pakistan and Bangladesh following tougher immigration rules introduced by the Home Office and rising concerns over alleged visa abuse.
At least nine higher education institutions have restricted recruitment from "high-risk" countries as they face increased pressure to ensure they are enrolling genuine students and not those who abuse the system.
Following a surge in asylum claims lodged by international students, prompting UK ministers to warn that the study route “must not be used as a backdoor” to settlement.
The University of Chester has closed admissions from Pakistan until autumn 2026, citing a “recent and unexpected rise in visa refusals”.
Moreover, the University of Wolverhampton is not accepting undergraduate applications from either Pakistan or Bangladesh, while the University of East London has paused recruitment from Pakistan altogether.
Other institutions, which include Sunderland, Coventry, Hertfordshire, Oxford Brookes, Glasgow Caledonian and private provider BPP University, have also suspended admissions under what they describe as risk-mitigation measures.
It should be noted that the restrictions come after a regulatory advancement, which took effect in September, reducing the maximum visa refusal rate allowed for institutions sponsoring international students from 10% to 5%.
However, refusal rates for Pakistani and Bangladeshi student visa applications stand at 18% and 22% respectively, far exceeding the new limit.
Together, applicants from the two countries — Pakistan and Bangladesh — make up half of the 23,036 student visa refusals recorded by the Home Office in the year to September 2025.
International higher education consultant Vincenzo Raimo said that the crackdown had created a “real dilemma” for lower-fee universities heavily dependent on overseas enrollments.
Lahore-based Edvance Advisors Founder Maryem Abbas described the decisions as “heartbreaking” for genuine students whose applications were being rejected at the final stage.
She argued that weak oversight of recruitment agents had contributed to the rise in misuse of the student route, turning it into a “moneymaking business”.
Universities UK International said some institutions would need to diversify international recruitment and strengthen application checks to retain their sponsorship rights.
