Hundreds of students, including Nepalis, have been affected after the UK Home Office suspended Buckinghamshire New University’s student sponsor licence on September 30.
The suspension took effect immediately, and the government has removed the university from the register of licensed sponsors. The university, which has campuses in High Wycombe, London and Nottingham, says most of the issues raised relate to past international student recruitment.
The Home Office has given it 20 days to respond. If the university cannot provide enough evidence to justify reinstating the licence, it will be revoked.
Nepali students affected
Pramod Adhikari, director of Ample International Education, a consultancy in the UK and Nepal, said about 250 Nepali students are enrolled, many of them studying nursing at what is seen as a relatively cheap university. His agency has also recommended students there. He said there is no need to panic.
Students remain worried, however, as the government is getting tougher on sponsors.
“The university says it is working on it, but with so little time left, I fear what the outcome will be,” said one nursing student.
Students with valid visas can continue studying during the suspension. If the licence is revoked, they must find a new sponsor within 60 days of their visa being cancelled, get a new Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number and apply for a new visa, paying the application fee and health surcharge again. Otherwise they must leave the UK.
Tighter rules
On August 5, the Home Office revoked the sponsor licence of London’s Bloomsbury Institute after it failed the Basic Compliance Assessment, an annual check of visa refusal, enrolment and course completion rates. It needed to keep visa refusals below 10 percent, enrolment at 90 percent or more and completion at 85 percent or more.
Since June 1, 2026, the thresholds have been tightened to visa refusals below 5 percent, enrolment of at least 95 percent and completion of at least 90 percent.
The government says the tougher measures cut asylum claims by students by 30 percent in a year. Asylum claims by people on work, study and visit visas had risen more than threefold to 37 percent under the previous government, with foreign students the largest share.
Universities under pressure
Home Office data show student visa applications up to the end of July were 11 percent lower than a year earlier. Some fear international enrolment could fall by as much as 30 percent. University leaders warn of financial trouble and have urged the government to rethink the levy on international student fees introduced under Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
King’s College London vice-chancellor Prof Shitij Kapur told The Guardian that every five international students support one university job, so the fall will affect finances and staffing.
