Cambridge University Graduation Day on 3 May 2025. Students queue along King's Parade waiting to enter the Senate House to receive their degrees on May Day Weekend. Seen Here: Students from the all female Murray Edwards College. Photo: VCG

Following the UK government's potential move to raise visa compliance thresholds in pursuit of admitting "genuine students," some institutions plan to enroll more Chinese students, who are seen as having strong visa compliance records, the Times reported. 

The UK government was poised to publish its international education strategy this week, setting out how it will protect and strengthen the multibillion-pound industry, the Times reported on Monday, in an article titled "Universities may boost Chinese student numbers to meet visa rules."
One of the measures involve the Home Office tightening compliance thresholds for overseas students to reduce visa breaches and course dropouts. 

Last year's immigration white paper also set out new compliance thresholds for education providers sponsoring international students, the Times reported. In order to retain their licence, universities will need to ensure that 95 per cent of enrolments start the course, up from 90 percent; that at least 90 percent of students complete their course, up from 85 percent; and that the visa refusal rate for those accepted for courses is below 5 percent, down from 10 percent.

A senior figure in the sector was quoted as saying universities took audits by UK Visas and Immigration very seriously as they could lose their sponsor licence.

Several universities have reportedly suspended student recruitment from countries with low visa compliance rates, with some having already implemented effective bans on students from risky countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, per report.

However, university leaders say they are working "blind" because the Home Office does not routinely share the latest data, the Times reported.

The report citing sources noted that it was safer to sponsor students from China, which has high visa compliance.

They added: "Institutions will have to be far more risk averse in their recruitment strategy… Institutions will be looking at countries with high compliance rates and one of these is China."

Yu Wenjie, director of the Institute of British and Commonwealth Studies at Nanjing University, told the Global Times on Monday that UK institutions' favor of Chinese students also demonstrates that these students have earned a favorable reputation in UK higher education institutions.

The Home Office said: "We strongly value the contribution of genuine international students and recognise their importance to the UK's world-leading universities. However, this government will not tolerate abuse of the immigration system. To restore order and control, we're tightening the rules to ensure those coming here are genuine students and education providers take their responsibilities seriously."

Yu added that the fact that UK institutions seek to enroll students with a high visa compliance rate also indicates that the country aims to foster a high-quality academic environment.

The UK has overtaken the US as the most popular destination for Chinese students for the first time since 2020 thanks to its shorter academic programs and a relatively stable political environment, according to the 2025 Report on Chinese Students' Overseas Study released by New Oriental Education and Technology Group in May 2025.

Some 33,870 Chinese students applied to UK universities and colleges via UCAS by the June cutoff this year, up from 30,860 in 2024, marking a record number of Chinese students applying to institutions in this way, the Pie News reported.

Yu said the decision of UK institutions is also conducive to advancing China-UK people-to-people and cultural exchanges, promoting cooperation in areas such as talent development as well as science and technology, and deepening broader bilateral cooperation.

Yu said that the UK is home to numerous prestigious universities that enjoy world-renowned prestige, adding that should UK institutions take further concrete steps to formalize and implement measures for boosting recruiting Chinese students, it is likely to foster educational exchanges between China and other European countries, and may even exert some influence on academic institutions in the Americas.