UK: Stricter BCA rules to take effect in September

The UK Home Office has confirmed that heightened basic compliance assessment (BCA) thresholds, a new red-amber-green banding system, and updates to the agent quality framework (AQF), will come into force next month.  

The changes – first proposed in the government’s immigration white paper this May – will take affect at a time of heightened political debate about immigration, including claims of tertiary education being used as a “backdoor” by asylum claimants.  

“We are taking decisive action to crack down on those who arrive in our country through legal means, only to abuse the process by making dubious asylum claims,” said border security minister Angela Eagle.  

“The UK will always welcome genuine visitors, workers and students, but we will not tolerate this kind of systematic abuse,” she maintained.  

The measures to be implemented at the start of the 2025/26 academic year are intended to strengthen government oversight of international student recruitment.  

They include changes to BCA thresholds; namely, 95% of international students accepted by a university must enrol (up from 90%), and 90% must complete their course (up from 85%).  

What’s more, universities will face sanctions if more than 5% of their students’ visas are rejected, down from 10%.

The incoming measures also include a traffic-light banding system that rates sponsors on compliance performance, with underperforming institutions facing being placed on a UKVI action plan or a possible recruitment cap.  

The AQF – which many institutions are already a part of – will become mandatory for all sponsors using recruitment agents, to ensure compliance responsibilities are not outsourced and to prevent the misuse of unsponsored English language courses. 

The plans come amid heightened scrutiny of the asylum system, including increasing asylum claims by students on valid UK study visas, spotlighted in a recent article in The Times stating that universities with an asylum “back door” would be “named and shamed” by the government.  

While acknowledging there is work to do to prevent abuse of the system, stakeholders have criticised the article’s assumption that every asylum claim by an international student is illegitimate, and the damaging rhetoric suggesting the complicity of universities.  

It is important the debate is based on facts and not rhetoric

Syed Nooh, UEA

Syed Nooh, head of global insights and market development at the University of East Anglia, argued the article was “quite dramatic” and that it “risked painting a misleading picture of the reality”. 

He emphasised the strict rules institutions operated under, checking academic background, financial evidence, English language and credibility, with many also holding pre-CAS interviews before issuing students with confirmation of acceptance letters.  

Notably, international students must also attend credibility interviews with UKVI, thus proving their genuineness to the government agency as well as the university.  

For Diana Beech, director of the Finsbury Institute at City St. George’s, University of London: “The article conflates legitimate asylum claims made by international students with illegal and dangerous small boat crossings in a way that risks stoking public resentment and undermining trust.” 

“With global instability on the rise it is entirely plausible that circumstances may change for international students from conflict-affected regions during their time in the UK,” Beech continued.

“It is only right that we preserve the asylum route for those who genuinely need protection, and we must ensure that their access to safety is not jeopardised by a growing number of bogus claims.”

According to Home Office figures cited in the article, approximately 16,000 asylum claims were made by international students last year, making up 40% of the 40,000 claims from legal visa holders, out of a total of 108,000 asylum claims in 2024.   

Those who claimed asylum made up just over 2% of the overall international student population, with Nooh warning that the scale of the issue “needs to be kept in perspective”, as the large majority of students either return home or move onto legitimate post-study routes.  

“It is important the debate is based on facts and not rhetoric that could harm the UK’s image as a welcoming study destination,” he said, adding it was “also important that the immigration advisors within the UK are advising graduating students appropriately.”

According to a government report updated this June, the number of students claiming asylum is “increasing at pace”, with most claims coming as their visas approach expiry, “including where circumstances in their home country have not changed”. 

And yet, sector compliance has also been ramped up, with stakeholders having long called for improved real-time data sharing form the Home Office to help institutions respond to emerging risks.  

“Many universities go beyond Home Office requirements and take additional steps when assessing international applications,” said Universities UK, adding it was “ready to work with the government to implement the changes” outlined in the white paper.  

The PIE News has contacted the Home Office for further information on student visa holders claiming asylum from 2019-2025 broken down by nationality but has not yet received a response.

It is entirely plausible that circumstances may change for international students from conflict-affected regions during their time in the UK.  

Diana Beech, City St. George’s, University of London

Beech echoed the demand for more detailed and timely government data, arguing that rhetoric used by “some political figures” risked undermining public confidence and alienating key international partners and markets.  

“It is vital that we avoid language that demonises both prospective and current students as well as institutions and instead focus on collaborative solutions” upholding the integrity of the immigration system and the UK’s welcoming reputation, she said. 

In anticipation of the coming changes, universities have already begun stepping up compliance, with London Metropolitan University announcing last month it would halt student recruitment in Bangladesh due to a high number of visa denials. 

Meanwhile, in June, Glasgow Caledonian University decided to pause recruitment to several courses at risk of non-compliance with the new BCA metrics, acting on its own analysis of visa refusals, enrolment and course completion rates.  

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