# UK student visa: Pakistan withdrawals hit 40.9% as about 15 universities stop recruiting from Pakistan

Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/education/uk-student-visa-pakistan-withdrawals-hit-409percent-as-about-15-universities)
Type: News article
Author: Searchable Editorial
Published: 10 Oct 2026
Updated: 10 Oct 2026
Retrieved: 10 Oct 2026

> A Financial Times analysis of Home Office data shows UK universities revoking offers to Pakistani applicants. What changed in the rules and what it means if you are applying.

**UK student visa** applications from Pakistan are being withdrawn at a rate of **40.9%**, up from **3%** a year earlier, as UK universities revoke offers to Pakistani applicants, ProPakistani reported on Saturday, citing a **Financial Times** analysis of Home Office figures for the first half of 2026. Around **15 UK institutions** have reportedly suspended recruitment from Pakistan entirely this year. The report does not list them.

A study visa application can only be made once a university has made an offer, so when a university revokes that offer, the visa application is withdrawn. That is why the withdrawal rate has jumped.

## Visa withdrawals in the first half of the year

| Applicants from | 2025 | 2026 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pakistan | 3% | **40.9%** |
| Bangladesh | 7.1% | 23.5% |
| Nigeria | 4.5% | 22.7% |
| India | 1.2% | 5.2% |
| All countries | 2.3% | 10.5% |

Figures as reported by [ProPakistani](https://propakistani.pk/2026/10/10/15-uk-universities-suspend-recruitment-from-pakistan/), from the FT's analysis. The all-country rate was 0.4% in 2023.

## Why universities are doing it

The Home Office roughly **doubled study visa refusals** in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period of 2025, and refusal rates were highest for nationalities the government suspects of using student visas to claim asylum, the report said. Under the tightened sponsor rules, a university risks losing its licence to recruit overseas students if **more than 5%** of the students it admits are refused visas; the limit used to be **10%**. Data from Enroly, a firm that processes visa applications, suggests nearly half of UK universities are above 5%. Pulling offers from high-risk countries is how some are protecting their licences.

This has been building for a year. In December 2025, The News named universities that had already paused or limited recruitment from Pakistan, among them **Chester, Wolverhampton, East London, Sunderland, Coventry, Hertfordshire, Oxford Brookes** and the private **BPP University**, some until autumn 2026, [The News reported](https://www.thenews.pk/print/1384875-several-uk-universities-restrict-recruitment-of-pakistani-bangladeshi-students) at the time. Which of them still restrict recruitment now is not stated in Saturday's report.

## What it means if you are applying from Pakistan

1. **Ask the university directly** whether it is accepting applicants from Pakistan for your intake, in writing, before paying a deposit.
2. **Check your agent's claims.** An offer from a university that has paused Pakistan recruitment is at the highest risk of being withdrawn.
3. **Keep your documents genuine and consistent.** Refusals linked to doubtful documents are what push universities over the 5% line, and they hurt every applicant from the same country.
4. **Budget for the cost in rupees.** At today's rate of about Rs 366 to the pound on our [pound to rupee page](/data/gbp-pkr), a GBP 15,000 fee is about Rs 5.5 million before living costs. Our [currency converter](/tools/finance/currency-converter) does the sum for your fee.

## Frequently asked questions

**Why are UK universities stopping recruitment from Pakistan?**

Under Home Office rules a university can lose its licence to sponsor overseas students if more than 5% of its admitted students are refused visas, down from 10%. Refusals for Pakistani applicants rose sharply in 2026, so some universities have stopped recruiting from Pakistan.

## Sources

- 15 UK Universities Suspend Recruitment From Pakistan (10 Oct 2026, citing Financial Times analysis of Home Office data) (ProPakistani): https://propakistani.pk/2026/10/10/15-uk-universities-suspend-recruitment-from-pakistan/
- Several UK universities restrict recruitment of Pakistani, Bangladeshi students (5 Dec 2025) (The News): https://www.thenews.pk/print/1384875-several-uk-universities-restrict-recruitment-of-pakistani-bangladeshi-students

How to cite: "UK student visa: Pakistan withdrawals hit 40.9% as about 15 universities stop recruiting from Pakistan", Searchable, 10 Oct 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/education/uk-student-visa-pakistan-withdrawals-hit-409percent-as-about-15-universities