The University of Bradford has temporarily paused applications from Pakistan for undergraduate and postgraduate taught courses from the January 2027 intake, saying rising student visa refusal rates put its licence to sponsor international students at risk.

The university's vice-chancellor, Gillian Murray, told Times Higher Education that the decision was driven by the Home Office's tightened compliance rules. Universities now risk losing their student sponsor licence if their visa refusal rate rises above five per cent, and applicants from India, Pakistan and Nigeria are significantly more likely to be turned down than applicants from other countries.

For Bradford, the issue is especially sensitive. About a quarter of the city's population is of Pakistani descent, and around 80 per cent of the university's students come from the local area, many of them from the same communities that UK Visas and Immigration is currently refusing in large numbers. Murray said the pause was a difficult cultural decision for a leader who wants to welcome different cultures and bring people together.

The university's own advice page for applicants from Pakistan confirms the pause and says it is expected to be temporary and will be reviewed regularly. PhD applicants and distance learning applicants are not affected, and students on University of Bradford International College pathway routes can continue to their follow-on programme. Students who have already been issued with a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies can continue with their visa application and their plans to study at Bradford.

The university says the decision follows a review of its international recruitment activity and its responsibilities as a UKVI Student Sponsor. It says recent changes to UKVI requirements, alongside increased visa refusal rates, mean it has taken the precautionary measure to protect its sponsor licence while it continues to monitor its performance data. It is unable to continue processing existing applications in the affected subject areas from students who have not yet reached the CAS stage, and deposits paid by affected applicants will be refunded.

Murray said she had faced lobbying from local leaders to rethink the decision, including letters from the community and from the local MP. She described it as a really big concern and said she had to make some hard decisions about not supporting certain markets internationally going forward because of the licence risk.

The visa squeeze comes as Bradford, like much of the sector, faces financial pressure. Under the university's former vice-chancellor, Shirley Congdon, it set about trying to make £10 million worth of cuts, and its most recent financial statements show staff headcount fell from 1,740 in 2023-24 to 1,566 in 2024-25. Murray, who was previously deputy principal for enterprise and business at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, said she did not have a crystal ball on further redundancies but was focused on making the university more agile and entrepreneurial.

Applicants affected by the pause should check the University of Bradford's official country page for Pakistan for the latest position, as the university says the pause will be reviewed regularly. Immigration rules and sponsor requirements can change, so anyone planning to apply should confirm the current position on the official university and GOV.UK pages before making plans or paying fees.