The Home Office confirmed that universities must now meet higher compliance thresholds if they want to keep sponsoring international students.

Officials say the changes are designed to close gaps in the system while keeping the UK open to genuine applicants.

Under the revised policy, universities will need at least a 90% course completion rate for international students, up from 85%. They must also ensure a 95% enrolment rate, compared with the previous 90%.

A visa refusal rate will also be monitored more closely, capped at below 5%, down from 10%.

These result from issues with how some students use study visas. In the year ending March 2026, 10,835 people who entered the UK on study visas went on to claim asylum.

That is a small share of total student visa holders, but officials say the pattern needs stronger supervision.

The UK issued 409,954 sponsored study visas for international students in the same period. That is lower than the 498,626 recorded in the peak year ending June 2023.

The decline followed earlier restrictions, including limits on dependants for international students.

The Home Office will also introduce a traffic light rating system for universities from summer 2027. Institutions will be placed in green, amber or red categories based on compliance levels.

Green-rated universities will retain full sponsorship rights, while Amber status will bring closer monitoring and reputational warnings. Red-rated institutions will face limits on international recruitment and must fund a 12-month improvement plan.

If they fail to improve, they risk losing the right to sponsor international students entirely.

Minister for Migration and Citizenship Mike Tapp defended the policy direction and said the government still values international students.

“The UK will always welcome genuine international students, and our universities are rightly admired around the world, but our visa system must not be used as a backdoor to asylum and illegal working,” he said.

He added: “Student asylum claims are down 30% in the last year. I thank the sector for their co-operation in achieving this, but we must go further.

“Those seeking to game the system should know we are watching, and won’t hesitate to act.”

The government is currently tracking how different nationalities use study and other legal visa routes. Pakistani nationals accounted for the largest share of asylum claims in the latest reporting period, with many entering through legal visas.

Eritrean nationals were more often recorded arriving through irregular routes, including small boat crossings. Iranian and Afghan nationals also featured prominently in asylum figures.

Nigeria was not among the top nationalities in the most recent breakdown. However, Nigerian asylum applications have grown over time.

Between 2010 and 2024, Nigerian nationals submitted 22,619 asylum claims in the UK. That placed Nigeria 11th among all nationalities during that period.

Applications also surged in recent years, increasing from 1,462 in 2023 to 2,841 in 2024.

Universities are already feeling the pressure from earlier immigration changes. A restriction introduced in 2024 limited international students from bringing dependants. That change contributed to a fall in study visa grants.

The government has also taken targeted steps against specific countries, including suspending study visa routes for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan at different points due to asylum concerns.

Universities warn that the financial impact of reduced international enrolment is already visible. Higher education institutions rely heavily on overseas tuition fees, which generate about £37 billion annually for the UK economy.

Professor Malcolm Press CBE DL, president of Universities UK, said the sector supports efforts to protect system integrity but warned against instability.

“International students bring significant economic and soft power benefits, contributing £37 billion in export earnings. We want the UK to remain open and welcoming, but that depends on responding quickly to any risks of abuse.

“What universities need from government is policy stability, transparent visa decision-making, and real-time data to act on emerging concerns. 

“The sector relies on international student income, and recent sharp declines have led to substantial cost-cutting and job losses. It is essential that we build a fair, stable, and transparent system that works in the national interest.”

Being its fourth expansion in less than a year, this expansion stresses the company’s vision to be the go-to platform in a sector it values at over $30 billion annually.

With operations now in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Burundi, and Tanzania, Craydel is targeting a fast-growing market of more than 400,000 African students who pursue studies abroad each year. 

The company argues that despite rising demand, many learners still face fragmented guidance and lack transparent support in choosing higher education opportunities.

“Across Africa, students face the same challenge: limited, biased advice from a fragmented agent system,” said Craydel’s co-founder and CEO, Manish Sardana. “At Craydel, we’re flipping that model, putting control back in learners’ hands with seamless access to the tech to search, match, and apply to their best-fit universities. With proven playbooks for new market expansion, we’re scaling fast, with the learner always at the centre.”

Founded in 2021 by Sardana alongside John Nguru (CTO) and Shayne Aman Premji (CFO), the startup has raised more than $2.5 million in venture funding from investors including Enza Capital and Angaza Capital. Its platform is free to learners but generates revenue from universities that pay commission for successful student enrollments.

The company’s key feature is its “University Matchmaker,” a tool that uses psychometrics, academic performance, budget, and career aspirations to recommend suitable institutions. This approach is designed to bypass traditional education agents, offering personalised and bias-free results.

Craydel’s expansion strategy is underpinned by local partnerships and regulatory navigation, a model it believes gives it an edge over global competitors like ApplyBoard of Canada and Australia’s IDP Education, which have long dominated international student recruitment.

“Our expansion to Burundi and Tanzania is part of our journey to deploy the Craydel platform across Africa,” Sardana added.

With Africa’s education sector being impacted by a youth-heavy population (with over 60% under the age of 25) and a growing appetite for international qualifications, Craydel’s timing is just right. Nonetheless, career counselling and reliable university placement remain scarce in many parts of the continent.

Craydel is scaling to also expand its workforce, with fresh hiring rounds underway in Nigeria and Kenya. The company has revealed that more market launches are on the horizon as it pushes toward profitability.

This announcement was made during AIT’s 20th graduation ceremony, where Professor Clement Dzidonu, President of AIT, addressed graduates and guests, highlighting the university’s plans to lead in the digital transformation of education.

Professor Dzidonu emphasized the deep impact of AI and associated technologies on the future of higher education. “We stand at the dawn of an AI revolution, and it is no surprise that leading universities across the world are actively exploring ways to integrate these technologies into their operations,” he stated.

As a leading technological university, AIT recognizes that the integration of AI is not just a trend but a necessity in the 21st-century educational sector.

To this end, the university has committed to becoming a global pioneer in the holistic implementation of AI across 12 critical stages of the student life cycle, including curriculum development, program delivery, assessments, research, and alumni engagement.

“By seamlessly integrating AI and associated technologies into all aspects of what we do at this university, AIT is not only enhancing the educational experience for our students but also positioning itself as a global leader in the intelligent and innovative delivery of higher education,” Professor Dzidonu announced.

The AIT Board of Trustees, which includes six former Vice Chancellors is currently spearheading the development of comprehensive policy provisions and guidelines to facilitate this transformative integration of AI and other emerging educational technologies.

This initiative aims to ensure that AIT graduates are equipped with the skills, knowledge, and adaptability to thrive in an increasingly AI-driven economy and society.

“We believe that this holistic approach will not only benefit our students but also position AIT as a global leader in the intelligent and innovative delivery of enriching higher education in the sub-region and beyond,” Professor Dzidonu concluded.

This bold move by Accra Institute of Technology underscores the university’s commitment to staying at the forefront of technological innovation and ensuring that its students are prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the future.

Accra Institute of Technology (AIT), ranked as the top private University in Ghana by the Ghana Tertiary Awards, is an independent technology-focused university dedicated to academic excellence and cutting-edge scientific and industrial research and R&D work.

For the fourth consecutive year, the University has been honoured with the Best Technology University in Ghana Award, a recognition bestowed by the Ghana Tertiary Awards. This achievement follows the Best in Technology-Focused University in Ghana Award from Global Business Insight of the United Kingdom.

AIT is accredited by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to offer both campus-based and Open University undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

AIT is affiliated with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) for campus-based undergraduate programs in engineering, computer science/IT, and business administration, and the Open University of Malaysia for Open University undergraduate and postgraduate programs at the Masters and PhD levels.