The United Kingdom granted 432,225 sponsored study visas to main applicants in the year ending June 2024, as the latest Home Office statistics revealed.
This represents a 13 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2023, when the number of study visas issued stood at 498,068, VisaGuide.World reports.
The drop in study visas follows tightened visa regulations that the UK government announced in May 2025.
Some of the measures announced back then include increasing financial maintenance requirements, reviewing English language assessments, and introducing stricter admission criteria for institutions recruiting foreign students.
According to authorities, such measures aim to ensure that this scheme is used for education, not as a gate to immigration.
50% of Study Visas Were Issued to Indian & Chinese Students
Indians emerged as the most common nationality obtaining UK study visas during the financial year 2023/24. More specifically, 110,006 visas—accounting for 25 percent of the total—were granted to main applicants from India.
Despite leading the list, Home Office statistics show that the number of Indian students has decreased by 23 per cent in the latest year.
In addition to Indian students, a notable share of student visas were granted to students from China. With 107,236 study visas, Chinese students also account for 25 percent of the total visas issued during this period.
Overall, most visas granted during this period were for:
- Master studies (65 percent)
- Bachelor studies (25 percent)
- Doctoral studies (10 percent)
The number of grants to students coming to study at the masters level increased each year between the year ending June 2019 (prior to the pandemic and the UK leaving the EU) and the year ending June 2023 (to 326,385), but fell slightly in the latest year to 270,460.
Number of Student Dependent Visas Dropped by 39%
In addition to sponsored study visas, the UK recorded a decrease in the number of visas issued to student dependents. More specifically, authorities granted 94,253 visas to student dependents, marking a 39 per cent drop from 2023.
Such a decrease is closely related to some stricter visa regulations that the UK introduced earlier this year.
The decrease in dependents of students followed a policy change for courses starting on or after January 1, 2024, whereby only researched-based postgraduate students are now allowed to bring dependants (partners and children) to the UK.
In addition to study and student dependents visas, the UK has tightened visa rules for some other migrant categories, including foreign workers and their family members.