Several UK universities close door on Bangladeshi and Pakistani students: FT

Several UK universities have suspended recruitment of students from Bangladesh and Pakistan, citing tougher visa rules and concerns over potential abuse of the system.

At least nine higher education institutions, vowing to enrol "genuine" students, have stopped receiving applications from "high-risk" countries, according to an article published earlier on Thursday in the Financial Times.

The University of Wolverhampton has stopped accepting undergraduate applicants from both countries, while Sunderland and Coventry have also suspended recruitment.

London Metropolitan University confirmed it had halted admissions from Bangladesh, noting the country accounted for 60 percent of its visa refusals.

The University of Chester suspended recruitment from Pakistan until autumn 2026, citing a "recent and unexpected rise in visa refusals."

The University of Hertfordshire has paused recruitment from both Bangladesh and Pakistan until 2026, blaming "long visa processing times."

The crackdown follows changes to the Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) thresholds that universities must meet to retain their student sponsor licence. Institutions must ensure that no more than 5 percent of visa applications are rejected, down from 10 percent, according to the new rules coming into effect in September this year.

Official figures show refusal rates for Bangladeshi and Pakistani student visa applications, respectively, at 22 and 18 percent in the year to September 2025, far above the new limit.

Together, the two countries accounted for half of the 23,036 visa refusals in that period.

Asylum claims from Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals are also on the rise, with many entering Britain initially on study or work visas. Border security minister Dame Angela Eagle warned the visa system "must not be used as a backdoor" to settling in the UK.