The number of people applying for international student visas in the UK has risen marginally compared with last year, showing small signs of recovery after the government banned most students from bringing family members with them.?

Applications for sponsored study visas were 2 per cent higher in the year ending August 2025 than in 2024, standing at 427,100 applications, according to . Just over 120,000 students applied for a study visa in August alone ¨C the busiest period for applications.

Visa applications from dependants of students in the year ending August 2025 were down 85 per cent compared with the year ending December 2023, with the 91ÇÑ×Ó Office receiving just 21,800 applications.?

The drop follows rule changes that came into effect in January 2024, which banned most students, other than those on postgraduate research courses or on government-funded scholarships, from bringing their dependents.?

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Lisa Randall, partner and national head of higher education at consulting firm RSM UK, said the new figures show ¡°signs of a slow recovery¡±, which could be ¡°a boost to UK universities where the fiscal landscape remains challenging¡±.

There were?¡°alarm bells¡± in the sector?after July 2024¡¯s figures saw study visa applications decline by 15 per cent year-on-year, sparking concerns over the financial health of institutions reliant on international students. Experts estimated this could equate to a billion pounds in lost revenue.?

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Sponsored study visa numbers have fallen significantly since the restrictions came into play. The total number of sponsored study visas granted for the initial quarter of 2024, the first quarter following the visa changes, fell 49 per cent from 88,222 to 45,359.

Universities have since looked to increase the size of their domestic undergraduate cohorts following the fall in international students, which has resulted in higher-tariff universities hoovering up their highest ever number of students?as they look to shore up their income.

¡°The perfect storm of fewer international students, increased competition across UK universities and the cost of living influencing student choices, is leading to recruitment strategies changing, particularly with the Russell Group universities, to protect or boost income streams,¡± said Randall.?

Data from Ucas, she continued, ¡°shows that the lower-tariff institutions have the lowest number of accepted applicants for a decade and the higher-tariff institutions have the highest number of accepted applicants for a decade. This polarisation of consumer choice by tariff means that the distribution of international students will make a big difference as to how and where the consolidation of courses and possibly institutions will land.¡±

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juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com