London Metropolitan University closes doors for Bangladeshi students

Due to the UK’s strict immigration policy, various universities in the country are being forced to re-evaluate their international student admission strategies. This is having a direct impact on Bangladeshi students.

London Metropolitan University has already announced that they will not admit any new students from Bangladesh for the time being.

The university is ranked 1001st in the world in the QS rankings. Their decision comes in response to the upcoming changes to the UK’s Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA). According to the new rules, a university must keep its student visa refusal rate within a maximum of 5 percent to maintain its ‘green’ compliance status.

London Metropolitan University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Gary Davies said that the high rate of visa refusals, especially for Bangladeshi students, forced them to take this tough decision. In recent years, 60 to 65 percent of applicants who were refused visas at the university were Bangladeshis. This is consistent with data from UK Visas and Immigration.

Davies said the rate was putting the university’s current compliance position at risk. So, to stay within the 5 percent rejection rate, they decided not to take new applications from Bangladesh.

However, the university authorities have assured that those who have already received a Confirmation of Acceptance (CAS) will not suffer financial loss. The process of withdrawing the CAS and initiating a quick refund will be done.

The decision is not limited to London Metropolitan University alone, Glasgow Caledonian University has also stopped international admissions to courses at compliance risk. The University of Sunderland has also suspended admissions to students from several high-risk countries, including Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. However, it said it would remain accountable to students who have received a CAS.

The situation is getting more complicated for Bangladeshi students. The UK’s study visa approval rate fell to 63 percent in the first quarter of 2025, down 15 percentage points from the previous year.

This comes at a time when the UK government is tightening its immigration policy. Most international postgraduate students are banned from bringing dependents, resulting in an overall 14% reduction in study visas.

New immigration policy, due to be published in May 2025, could see other proposals, including imposing additional taxes on university income from international students and extending the period of eligibility for settlement in the UK from five to ten years.

All of these changes are making it more difficult and expensive for Bangladeshi students to pursue higher education in the UK.