Visa applications to study in UK plunge in crucial summer months – Research Professional News

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August figures down by 32 per cent compared with 2023, as decline accelerates

Applications for visas to study in the UK slumped in August—the most important month for international student recruitment—heaping further pressure on university finances

Home Office data released on 10 September show there were 99,500 applications in August, 17 per cent lower than in 2025 and 32 per cent lower than in 2023

With universities still reliant on income generated by fees from international students to make up for losses on research activity and teaching of domestic students, the dampened demand for student visas over the crucial summer months in 2026 will alarm university administrators

Institutions have taken a more risk-averse approach to recruitment amid tighter compliance rules that came into effect in June. There have been steep declines in visas granted to students moving to the UK from China, India, Nigeria and Pakistan—the top four countries for international recruitment

August is the eleventh month in a row in which visa applications have been lower than the same month in the previous year. The trend means that the rolling 12-month total of applications is declining at speed

In the 12 months to August 2026, there were 360,700 applications, down from 493,200 applications in the 12 months to August 2023—a fall of 27 per cent

Speaking at the Universities UK annual conference at Nottingham Trent University today, the skills minister Jacqui Smith said the UK continues to be welcoming to international students, telling delegates that universities need to “get out there and argue the case” for the UK as a destination

Responding to the new Home Office figures, chief executive of the Russell Group Libby Hackett said: “Successive government policies, including the previous leadership’s proposed tax on international students, are no doubt contributing to the change we’re now seeing.”

Hackett was referring to the upcoming levy on international student fees, which is due to kick in from 2028

“The international student levy is a tax on one of the UK’s most critical exports. This would be anti-growth and anti-devolution, with a direct impact on the cities and regional economies the new Burnham government is seeking to boost. We hope the prime minister will take quick and decisive action to reverse it.”

The Department for Education has said is it considering exemptions from the levy

Additional reporting by Chris Parr

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