Cameroon students face tougher UK study visa odds as applications fall 10.3%

Applications for UK-sponsored study visas fell to their lowest September level in five years, according to UK Home Office figures. Applications dropped 10.3 per cent year on year to 71,600 in September 2026, down from 79,800 in September 2025.

The fall comes after tighter UK immigration rules, including restrictions on student family members that took effect on 1 January 2024 and a further measure introduced in March 2026. The Home Office numbers cover applications, not approvals.

Key facts

• September 2026: 71,600 sponsored study visa applications, down 10.3% from 79,800 a year earlier.
• July to September 2026: 230,000 applications, down 26.4% from 312,700 in the same period of 2023.
• Grants: 383,455 in the year ending June 2026, down 41% from a peak of 652,072 in the year ending June 2023.
• Dependants: 15,700 applications in the 12 months to September 2026, down 31% year on year.
• March 2026: a measure described as a "visa brake" affected applications from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan.

What do the application figures show?

Applications for August 2026 totalled 99,500, compared with 120,300 in August 2025 and 147,200 in August 2023. August is normally a busy month, as students apply ahead of the new academic term.

Across the 12 months ending September 2026, applications from main students reached 352,000, a 19 per cent fall from the preceding 12 months. Sponsored study visa grants peaked at 652,072 in the year ending June 2023 and had fallen 41 per cent to 383,455 by June 2026.

Why have fewer students been applying?

From 1 January 2024, most international students were barred from bringing family members to the UK. The exceptions named are postgraduate research students and government-sponsored scholars. The measure was introduced under the Sunak Conservative government as part of an effort to reduce migration.

Official estimates from the Office for National Statistics put net migration at 672,000 between June 2022 and June 2023. In the year ending September 2023, 152,980 visas were issued to student dependants, more than 930 per cent above the 14,839 recorded in the year ending September 2019. Dependents applications have since fallen to 15,700 in the 12 months to September 2026 — 89 per cent below the level recorded in December 2023.

What is the visa brake?

A further restriction introduced in March 2026 is described in the source only as a "visa brake". It significantly affected student applications from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan. The source does not explain how the measure works, how long it will last or which visa categories it covers, and no further details are available from it.

What could this mean for students and universities?

A June briefing by the UK Parliament's House of Commons Library found that international student fees generated £12.4 billion in university income in 2024/25, or 23 per cent of total income, up from around 5 per cent in the mid-1990s. International tuition fees are not capped in the same way as domestic fees, which has made overseas recruitment an important source of funding.

A 2026 report by the Higher Education Policy Institute and Kaplan International Pathways, produced by London Economics, estimated that 404,500 international students enrolling in 2024/25 would bring £45.1 billion in economic benefits against a public cost of £4.7 billion — a ratio of 9.7 to one. Each student was projected to deliver about £100,000 in net economic benefit, and the group was expected to support around 287,300 full-time equivalent jobs.

First-year international enrolments had fallen by 54,500, or 12 per cent, since 2022/23. Had recruitment stayed at 2022/23 levels, the 2024/25 cohort alone could have generated an estimated additional £2.9 billion. In September, The Telegraph reported that at least 22 of 90 universities reviewed by consultancy S Squared Insights had cut postgraduate tuition fees, with the University of Aberdeen offering discounts of up to £8,000.

What this means for travellers

Anyone from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar or Sudan considering study in the UK should check how the March 2026 measure affects their application before making plans. Students hoping to bring family members should note that most are no longer permitted to do so, apart from postgraduate research students and government-sponsored scholars. The fall in applications does not indicate any change in approval rates.

The September figures do not show how much revenue will ultimately be lost, and applications can change. Whether the decline continues will depend on UK policy and on the decisions of students weighing tuition fees, living costs and future employment prospects.