UK Home Office imposes £925 levy on universities for Nigerian, Indian and Chinese students

The United Kingdom will start charging higher education institutions in England an annual levy of £925 for each international student from Nigeria, India or China from August 2028. The charge is meant to fund maintenance grants for domestic students whose households earn up to £30,000 a year.

The levy will be paid by the universities themselves and will apply to students who enrol in future academic years as well as those already studying, becoming payable when they reach the anniversary of their initial registration. The Home Office says the move follows a drop in international student visa applications, which fell 22 percent over the past year and more than 30 percent compared with three years ago.

Data for the year ending June 2026 show that China, India and Nigeria together accounted for about 54 percent of sponsored study visas granted to main applicants. At the same time, visa refusals for sponsored students rose from roughly 5,300 to 8,400 in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025. The National Union of Students and the Russell Group have voiced concerns about the funding arrangement.

Universities have begun withdrawing offers to some overseas applicants to avoid breaching visa refusal thresholds that could jeopardise their sponsorship licences. The levy comes as the UK government has shifted its international education strategy, dropping a target of 600,000 overseas students and aiming instead for education exports worth £40 billion by 2030.