The First Half of 2025 was Good for UK in Terms of Visa Issuance for International Students

According to data released by the UK Home Office on August 21, 2025, student visa grants increased by 18% during the first half of 2025, as opposed to the identical period in 2024. Comparisons from year to year, however, somewhat stifle that progress. 431,725 funded study visa grants were awarded for the fiscal year that concluded in June 2025. Compared to the previous year ending June 2024,this is 18% lower. Most of that decrease, though, can be linked to the ongoing drop in the number of accompanying dependents. Grants to dependents decreased by 81% annually, continuing the sharp decline in dependent numbers. Learning visa grants to primary applicants actually decreased by slightly more than 4%year over year (dropping from 432,097 during the time frame ending June 2024 to413,921 as of the time frame closing June 2025).

Nevertheless, for the twelve months ending June 2025, the number of educational visa grants awarded to primary applicants is still 52% higher than it was prior to Covid-19.Additionally, the accompanying dependent numbers have decreased over the past two years. According to the Home Office, the drop in visas issued in 2024 was caused by fewer dependents because of a policy change that only research-based postgraduate students are permitted to bring dependents (spouses and children)to the UK for courses beginning on or after January 1, 2024.

To put it other way, although the overall number of visas granted has decreased over the past two years, this decrease is mostly due to the sharp decline in allowances for accompanying dependents and the pressure it put on the number of primary applicants from some important expanding markets for the UK.

Approximately two-thirds (66%) of the entire foreign enrollments in the UK come from the nation's five biggest sending markets. There were 99,919 (24%) visas for education issued in the academic year ending June 2025. The Home Office notes that although the number of Chinese students declined significantly during theCovid-19 pandemic, they are currently the most common nationality. There were nearly as many Indian students, with 98,014 (24%) visas issued, with 37,013(9%) visas for education awarded to primary applicants, Pakistan was the third most prevalent nationality.

The home office concludes by pointing out that another major development driver following the pandemic has been rising enrollment in graduate programs: Over60% of sponsored study visas over the past five years have been granted to students pursuing master's degrees, which has been the primary driver of this trend in recent years. Compared to slightly more than half (59%) of Chinese students, four out of five (81%) Indian students traveled to the UK in the year ending March 2025 to pursue a master's degree.