UK universities tighten admissions for Bangladeshi students
Several British universities have quietly tightened or suspended admissions for students from Bangladesh and Pakistan, citing tougher Home Office rules and rising visa refusal rates, a move that is significantly narrowing access for applicants from two of the UK’s largest international student source countries.
UK universities have traditionally relied heavily on international students to support their finances and sustain globally diverse campuses.
Amid heightened scrutiny by immigration authorities, many institutions are, however, now limiting recruitment from what they describe as “high-risk” countries to avoid breaching visa compliance thresholds.
According to a report by the Financial Times, at least nine UK universities have imposed restrictions on recruitment from certain countries following increased Home Office monitoring over alleged visa misuse.
The move follows a rise in asylum claims by international students prompting Border Security Minister Dame Angela Eagle to caution that student visas ‘must not be used as a backdoor’ to permanent settlement in Britain.
Several universities have already taken direct action. The University of Wolverhampton has stopped accepting undergraduate applicants from both Bangladesh and Pakistan, while the University of East London has paused recruitment from Pakistan.
The Universities of Sunderland and Coventry have suspended recruitment from both countries. London Metropolitan University confirmed it halted recruitment from Bangladesh after Bangladeshi applicants accounted for 60 percent of its total visa refusals.
Universities insist the decisions are driven by compliance concerns rather than discrimination. The University of Sunderland said it makes ‘no apologies’ for adopting a firm stance to ‘protect the integrity’ of the UK’s student visa system.
Official data underscore the pressure universities are facing. For the year ending September 2025, visa refusal rates stood at 18 percent for Pakistani applicants and 22 percent for Bangladeshi applicants—well above the newly enforced 5 percent threshold.
Together, applicants from the two countries accounted for around half of the 23,036 student visa applications rejected by the Home Office during that period.
Asylum claims from Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals have also risen in recent years, with many individuals originally entering the UK on study or work visas, further intensifying government scrutiny.
While universities maintain that the restrictions are necessary to safeguard their sponsor licences, critics argue the measures risk undermining the UK’s reputation as an open destination for international education and disproportionately affect students from South Asia seeking higher education opportunities in Britain.
Source: UNB