43% Drop in UK Student Visas Hits Q2 Arrivals Across Major Markets
A total of 31,222 Sponsored Study visas were issued to main applicants in the United Kingdom during the second quarter of 2026, marking a 43 per cent year-on-year drop according to data published on August 27, 2026, by UK Visas and Immigration. Prospective international students and British universities face mounting hurdles as application volumes shrink and rejection rates climb globally.
Pakistan and Nigeria lead sharp regional contractions as refusal rates triple
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Nigeria issued 2,148 sponsored study visas in the second quarter of 2026, a 51 per cent decline compared to the same period in 2025, while recording a 24.9 per cent visa refusal rate. Across the wider data set, 19 of the top 20 sending countries experienced drops, led by severe regional contractions in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. India saw Q2 issuances fall 51 per cent to 7,378 with a 9.1 per cent refusal rate, while Pakistan recorded a 90 per cent drop to just 581 issued visas alongside a 34.1 per cent refusal rate.
The national refusal rate for final decisions rose from 2.7 per cent to 7.2 per cent in the second quarter. UK Visas and Immigration noted that first-half figures are not always strongly predictive of full-year totals because the primary intake occurs in the July-to-September quarter. However, the combination of fewer applications and stricter approvals threatens to pull down annual student enrollment numbers.
The contraction follows a rolling series of immigration tightening policies enacted by the Home Office to curb net migration totals.
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