Staff Reporter:
Several universities in the United Kingdom have moved to restrict recruitment from Bangladesh as tougher Home Office rules and concerns over visa abuse prompt institutions to tighten their international admission standards, reports Financial Times.
At least nine universities have introduced limits on student intake from what they describe as “high-risk” countries, with Bangladeshi applicants disproportionately affected.
The decisions come as UK institutions face heightened pressure to ensure they are enrolling genuine students under newly tightened immigration regulations.
The University of Wolverhampton and the University of Sunderland are among those that have suspended recruitment from Bangladesh. Coventry University has also taken similar measures, while the University of Chester has paused recruitment from South Asian countries after reporting a sharp rise in visa refusals.
Under a set of changes implemented from September, UK universities must now keep the refusal rate for their sponsored visa applications below 5%, down from the previous 10%. However, Bangladeshi student visa refusals in the year to September 2025 stood at 22%, far exceeding the new limit. Bangladeshi and Pakistani applicants together accounted for half of the 23,036 refusals recorded during the period.
Officials say the crackdown follows a spike in asylum claims made by individuals who initially entered the UK on study or work visas. Border Security Minister Dame Angela Eagle warned that the student route “must not be used as a backdoor” to settling in Britain.
Universities have described the situation as a delicate balancing act. Vincenzo Raimo, an international higher education consultant, said lower-fee institutions that depend heavily on foreign students face a “real dilemma”, as even a small number of problematic cases can push them over the Home Office thresholds.
A number of other universities have also taken precautionary measures. The University of Hertfordshire, placed under an action plan by the Home Office, has suspended recruitment from Bangladesh until September 2026 due to prolonged visa processing times. Glasgow Caledonian University temporarily paused admissions to several courses under similar compliance pressures.
Oxford Brookes University has halted applications from Bangladesh for its January 2026 undergraduate intake, saying the process will resume for the September session that year. London Metropolitan University earlier confirmed that it had stopped recruiting from Bangladesh after the country accounted for 60% of its visa refusals.
Education agents say the restrictions are leaving many genuine students stranded. Sector representatives have urged UK universities to more rigorously screen the agencies they rely on for overseas recruitment.
The Home Office, however, maintains that the measures are necessary. It said it “strongly values” international students but insists that rules must be enforced to ensure universities admit only genuine applicants and uphold visa compliance.
Restrictions also apply to Pakistani applicants, with several UK universities announcing parallel limits for the country’s students.
