Derby suspends Pakistan and Bangladesh recruitment as UK compliance pressures grow

In light of the UK government’s incoming tightening of visa compliance rules, including the lowering of visa refusal thresholds, prospective students from Pakistan and Bangladesh will no longer be able to apply to the university until at least Autumn 2026.

“As visa refusal rates for Pakistan and Bangladesh are far above the new threshold, we have made the difficult decision to pause recruitment of students from these countries while we review our processes to ensure we can remain compliant,” said a spokesperson for the University of Derby.

“Any student who has already received their CAS for Derby will be able to proceed with their application. All other applications will be cancelled, and the applicants will receive a full refund where deposits have already been paid. This withdrawal will not affect their ability to apply to another UK university, or to pursue other opportunities.”

Derby is a diverse and welcoming city, and we are committed to promoting and celebrating diversity and equality. However, we must ensure that we comply with UK visa regulations, and we are asking our trusted partners to work with us to achieve this.
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“Derby is a diverse and welcoming city, and we are committed to promoting and celebrating diversity and equality. However, we must ensure that we comply with UK visa regulations, and we are asking our trusted partners to work with us to achieve this,” the spokesperson added.

The university said it is “proud to welcome” more than 2,000 international students from over 100 countries studying at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. According to HESA data, in the academic year 2024/25, the University of Derby hosted 220 students from Pakistan and 35 students from Bangladesh.

Under measures set out in the government’s immigration white paper, universities must maintain a visa refusal rate below 5% (down from 10%).

The government has also raised the minimum pass requirement for other Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA) metrics by five percentage points, meaning sponsors must maintain a course enrolment rate of at least 95% and a course completion rate of 90%.

Institutions risk losing their licence to sponsor international students if they do not comply.

Derby is not the first institution to take the difficult decision to pause recruitment from certain markets as a result of the new measures. In July last year, London Met withdrew from the Bangladeshi market due to a high number of visa denials.

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