Nigerian students are increasingly turning to the United Kingdom for higher education, with 30,204 study visas granted in the year ending December 2025, a sharp 59 per cent increase compared to 2024.
The latest Home Office report on UK visa applications and outcomes places Nigeria among the fastest-growing nationalities for UK study visas in 2025, just behind Pakistan, which recorded 30,781 grants.
Indian nationals received the highest number of sponsored study visas at 95,231 (23% of the total), followed by Chinese students with 89,019 visas, though this represented a 15 per cent decline from 2024 and 34 per cent below their peak in September 2021. Other notable increases included Nepal, up 60 per cent to 19,553 visas, and Bangladesh, up 71 per cent to 10,828.
Overall, the UK granted 426,471 sponsored study visas in 2025, three per cent higher than the previous year but still 35 per cent below the peak in June 2023. Of these, 406,824 were main applicants (up 4%), and 19,647 were dependants (down 10%).
The report shows that 63 per cent of international students came to the UK for master’s-level programmes. However, master’s-level grants fell by 19 per cent to 256,303 in the year ending September 2025.
Nigerian students were also among the top groups approved for study-related extensions, with 3,894 granted permission to extend their stay to continue studies or switch to a sponsored programme. Combined with 11,076 Chinese and 5,968 Indian students, these groups accounted for over half of all study-related extensions. Overall, 34,538 main applicants in the UK received extensions, a five per cent decline from 2024.
Dependants faced sharper cuts, with only 5,138 granted extensions (down 21%), reflecting stricter rules limiting family sponsorship. Extensions under the Graduate route, which allows international graduates to work in the UK for up to two years (three for PhDs), fell by six per cent to 221,335. Starting January 1, 2027, the Graduate route duration will be reduced to 18 months.
The UK government is shifting its international education strategy, replacing the 2019 target of attracting 600,000 foreign students annually with a new ambition to grow education exports to £40 billion a year by 2030. Ministers aim to balance migration pressures with the economic benefits of international education.
A £925 annual levy per international student will be introduced from August 2028, and universities that fail compliance standards may face recruitment caps or lose licences to admit overseas students.
Additionally, from February 25, 2026, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) will fully transition Nigerian applicants to digital eVisas, ending the issuance of physical visa stickers. Approved students will now access their immigration status online via a secure UKVI account, though the application process, including biometrics, remains unchanged.
