UK blocks two African nations as Nigerian students lose places
LONDON — Students from Cameroon and Sudan face a formal block on new overseas applications to study in Britain, while Nigerian applicants are losing university offers as institutions seek to protect their international recruitment licences under tighter visa rules. Together, the developments show how Britain’s immigration crackdown is affecting African students through both government restrictions and university admissions decisions.
The measures operate differently. Cameroon and Sudan are covered by the government’s Student visa suspension, alongside Afghanistan and Myanmar. Nigeria is outside that restriction, but universities are reportedly withdrawing offers from Nigerian and other international applicants amid concern that visa refusals could push institutions beyond permitted compliance thresholds.
A Financial Times analysis of Home Office data found that 22.7% of Nigerian study visa applications were withdrawn in the first half of 2026, compared with 4.5% during the same period in 2025. The figure measures withdrawn visa applications, rather than the proportion of admission offers cancelled, and should not be read as Nigeria’s visa refusal rate.
For universities, the regulatory stakes have increased. Since 1 June, institutions sponsoring international students must maintain a visa refusal rate below 5%, an enrolment rate of at least 95% and a course completion rate of at least 85%. Failure to meet sponsorship requirements can put their ability to recruit overseas students at risk.
The framework creates an incentive for institutions to reconsider recruitment where they anticipate higher refusal rates. For applicants, academic acceptance consequently does not settle whether a university will continue supporting their immigration application. The reported withdrawals expose students to uncertainty over study plans even though their nationality remains eligible for the visa route.
Cameroonian and Sudanese applicants face a more direct barrier. Britain announced its nationality based “visa brake” on 4 March and implemented it on 26 March. Overseas Student visa applications from the four listed nationalities are refused even where applicants already hold a valid Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies from a university.
The restriction depends on the main nationality declared in the application, rather than residence or the country of submission. A Sudanese or Cameroonian national applying from South Africa is therefore still covered. Existing UK visas are not cancelled by the measure, and eligible holders can apply inside Britain for extensions or another immigration route. South African nationals are outside this particular suspension.
The Home Office justified the suspension by citing increased asylum claims from people entering through legal routes. It said student linked claims from the four countries in the year ending September 2025 exceeded 4.7 times their 2021 level. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood presented the intervention as necessary to prevent visa abuse and protect the asylum system.
Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights questioned the policy’s impact on genuine students, particularly those facing conflict or restricted educational opportunities. It also sought evidence on how many asylum applications from affected visa holders succeeded, which would help establish how many had legitimate protection needs. Government funded Chevening scholars receive no exemption, according to a March parliamentary answer.
On the wider university rules, Home Office minister Mike Tapp told Parliament in May that compliance targets would not change with fluctuations in visa refusal rates. He said the system allowed action plans and sponsorship restrictions before licence revocation. Meanwhile, no reopening date has been published for the four suspended nationalities, leaving affected African students facing either a closed visa route or uncertainty over whether their university offer will hold.
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