The United Kingdom is about to impose an annual levy of £925 (roughly $1,200) on universities for each worldwide scholar enrolled from Nigeria and other nations, together with India and China, starting in August 2028.
The proposed levy, which might be paid by larger training establishments in England, is meant to fund upkeep grants for deprived home students.
According to the most recent UK Home Office statistics for the yr ending June 2026, China, India and Nigeria had been the three largest nationalities receiving sponsored examine visas, accounting for roughly 54% of visas granted to most important candidates.
According to studies the National Union of Students (NUS) and the Russell Group have raised considerations concerning the proposed funding association.
The warning follows Home Office information exhibiting that worldwide scholar visa purposes have declined by 22% over the previous yr and greater than 30% in contrast with three years in the past.
How the levy might be charged
The provision states:
- “The levy is charged for an academic year on a registered higher education provider in respect of the international students who are for any period during the year registered on a higher education course provided by the provider.”
- It additional specifies that “the amount charged is £925 for each of those international students.”
The laws additionally offers that students who enrolled in earlier tutorial years will develop into eligible for the annual cost upon reaching the anniversary of their preliminary registration.
- This means universities might face recurring levy obligations for persevering with worldwide students, quite than paying solely for newly admitted students.
- The authorities beforehand projected that the worldwide scholar levy would generate £445 million in 2028/29, £465 million in 2029/30 and £480 million in 2030/31.
However, these estimates had been primarily based on assumptions of comparatively secure worldwide scholar recruitment.
Under the proposed association, eligible students from households incomes up to £30,000 yearly would obtain monetary help all through their undergraduate research.
- Students would obtain up to £1,000 yearly throughout their first two years.
- The grant would scale back to £750 yearly for subsequent years.
- Eligibility would focus on programs aligned with the federal government’s industrial technique, together with engineering and healthcare.
UK Tightens International Student Visa Rules
The funding considerations come amid more and more restrictive immigration insurance policies affecting worldwide students.
Home Office figures point out that sponsored scholar visa refusals elevated from roughly 5,300 to 8,400 through the first half of 2026 in contrast with the corresponding interval in 2025.
The authorities has additionally launched a number of restrictions affecting abroad candidates.
- In June 2025, the federal government diminished the utmost permitted scholar visa refusal fee for college sponsors from 10% to 5%.
- Since January 2024, most worldwide students have been prohibited from bringing dependants to the UK.
- In March 2026, scholar visa restrictions had been launched for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan.
Universities have reportedly begun withdrawing admission presents from some worldwide candidates to keep away from exceeding the visa refusal threshold and probably shedding their sponsorship licences.
Nigerian Students Face UK Visa Challenges
The funding considerations come amid broader adjustments to the UK’s worldwide training insurance policies, which have affected abroad scholar recruitment and college funds.
- Nairametrics reported on October 11, 2026 that British universities had been withdrawing admission presents to Nigerian students following a pointy improve in visa refusals. The proportion of UK examine visa purposes withdrawn by Nigerian candidates rose to 22.7% within the first half of 2026, in contrast with 4.5% through the corresponding interval in 2025.
- In June 2026, Nairametrics reported that the UK government launched stricter sponsorship necessities for universities recruiting worldwide students. Institutions that fail to meet the brand new compliance requirements danger restrictions on recruitment or shedding their sponsorship licences.
Earlier in January 2026, the UK government dropped its target of attracting 600,000 worldwide students yearly, changing it with a technique to develop training exports to £40 billion by 2030.
