Foreign
UK plans to ban graduate visa as varsities struggle with decline in Student deposits
The number of international students paying deposits to study at UK universities has “plummeted” after Rishi Sunak put restrictions on education visas, according to industry data given to the government’s independent adviser on migration.
Enroly, a web platform used by one in three international students for managing university enrolment, said deposits to a representative sample of 24 British universities had declined 57 per cent year-on-year as of May.
The data, shared directly with the Financial Times, will form part of a Migration Advisory Committee report set to be published on Tuesday into whether the government should continue to let international students stay and work in the UK for two years after graduation.
The study into the “Graduate Visa Route” was commissioned in March by home secretary James Cleverly to investigate concerns that graduate visas were being used as a backdoor immigration route rather than “attracting and retaining the best and brightest students”.
Jeffrey Williams, Enroly chief executive, said the company’s analysis showed “international student deposits, a key indicator of future enrolments, have plummeted”.
“This steep decline signals a significant drop in the UK’s attractiveness as a study destination. With such a drastic year-on-year reduction, further restrictive policies could exacerbate an already critical situation,” he added.
The Enroly data for the September 2024 entry period includes postgraduate students who were hit by Sunak’s decision last year to heavily restrict visas that allowed them to bring their family members to the UK.
Ministers are expected to make a decision on whether to axe the graduate route as early as this week. Sunak is under pressure from the right of the Conservative party to abolish it ahead of the upcoming general election to show the Tories are serious about cutting legal net migration after it exceeded a record 640,000 in the year to June 2023.
Last week Robert Jenrick, former immigration minister who quit Sunak’s government in December, issued a report with the conservative Centre for Policy Studies think-tank calling for the graduate visa route to be abolished.
But in recent weeks the prime minister and the chancellor Jeremy Hunt have also been subjected to a barrage of lobbying from the education sector arguing that the graduate visa is vital for the UK’s ability to compete in the global market for talent.
University and industry leaders have argued that any move to further crimp education visas will inflict significant damage on a sector that relies on foreign fee income for more than a fifth of its revenues. Overseas student typically pay two or three time the fees paid by domestic students.
Student migration to the UK reached a record high in 2022, with about 484,000 sponsored study visas issued, a 38 per cent increase from 2021 when the graduate visa route was reintroduced. A previous version was abolished in 2012.
In 2021-22 there were 820,310 postgraduates studying in the UK, of which almost half, or 372,500 were from overseas — up from about one-third in 2017-18.
A letter last week co-signed by the heads of 17 local chambers of commerce warned that abolition of the graduate visa route and the resultant loss of income from international students would have “a serious impact” upon R&D capacity in the UK.
Jane Harrington, vice-chancellor of the University of Greenwich and chair of University Alliance that co-ordinated the letter, said that ending the route would be “an extraordinary economic own goal”.
Abolishing the graduate route could also have a significant impact on undergraduate applications, which have recently seen markedly slower annual growth but not yet a decline.
In January, data from the University Universities and Colleges Admissions Service showed undergraduate international applications were 0.7 per cent higher than the previous year as of January.
FT analysis of the data showed one-third of institutions had seen a decline in overseas applicants, indicating uneven impacts across the sector.
A survey last month of 75 universities by the British Universities International Liaison, which represents the international recruitment sector, found almost nine out of 10 reported a year-on-year decrease in postgraduate applications from international students for the September 2024 intake.
South Africa’s anti-immigration group, March and March, has announced September 30 as a fresh deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, as it staged a protest outside the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Durban on Monday.
The group marched through central Durban under the theme, “It’s time to fetch your people,” calling on African leaders attending the 46th SADC Summit to take back their citizens living in South Africa without legal documentation.
March and March had earlier led nationwide protests on June 30, demanding tougher government action against undocumented immigration and warning that its campaign would continue until its demands were addressed.
Announcing its latest action, the group said the September 30 deadline would mark the beginning of what it described as the “mother of all protests”, while urging South Africans to assist the police in identifying undocumented foreigners.
The protest took place as the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government got underway in Durban, with leaders from the regional bloc’s 16 member states in attendance.
The demonstration has renewed debate over South Africa’s treatment of foreign nationals, particularly citizens of other African countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently condemned discrimination and violence against foreigners, saying South Africa could not advocate regional integration at the SADC summit while practising exclusion within the country.
The June 30 protests were accompanied by security operations and reports of attacks and looting in some areas, according to police reports cited in the original report.
March and March has continued to demand tougher action against undocumented immigration, while tensions over the treatment of foreign nationals have prompted some African countries to evacuate their citizens from South Africa.
The latest protest has brought the immigration dispute directly to the doorstep of the SADC summit, placing the issue before regional leaders whose citizens are among those affected.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a US deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, while calling on Tehran to surrender.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, amid ongoing talks between Oman and Iran over future maritime navigation arrangements through the strategic waterway.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump said, referring to the discussions between Oman and Iran as Washington pursues its own negotiations.
Iranian and Omani officials have been holding talks for weeks, with Iran’s Foreign Ministry saying Monday that both sides were working towards a joint declaration on the strait.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is under US control, despite Iran maintaining an effective blockade that has severely restricted maritime traffic.
On Friday, Trump said he could even declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, prompting Iran to insist that the strategic waterway “will remain Iranian.”
Trump also called on Iran to “put up the white flag of surrender,” according to Yingst.
The Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran to the north and Oman to the south, was previously regarded as an open international waterway and carries a significant share of global energy shipments.
AFP
There has been no known deployment of US ground forces in Iran during the Middle East war, with the exception of a rescue mission in April for a downed American pilot.
Hatami did not provide any details on where or when the killing or capturing of US soldiers was expected to take place.
“Anyone who kills or captures and hands over an invading American military personnel will receive a reward equivalent to $30,000 or 5 billion tomans from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army,” Hatami said, using an informal unit equivalent to 10,000 Iranian rials.
The war between Tehran and Washington began on February 28 after the United States, joined by Israel, attacked Iran. It was followed by an April ceasefire after nearly 40 days of fighting, and a June framework for peace talks that later collapsed.
Iran and the United States have since traded fire sporadically, with fighting mainly centred in southern Iran and around the Strait of Hormuz.
AFP
The family of Philip Ifeanyi Elobuike, an indigene of Eziama Village, Ebe, in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, has appealed to the public for assistance in locating him after his photograph surfaced on social media following nearly two years without contact.
Elobuike first travelled to the United States around 2004 and initially settled in the Los Angeles area of California. He later moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, before relocating to Dallas, Texas.
According to his family, Elobuike remained in contact with his relatives in Nigeria until around 2024, when communication with him suddenly stopped. Before losing contact, he was active on social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
His family had continued searching for him, and on August 11, 2026, they were relieved when his photograph surfaced on social media. The picture provided them with at least some reassurance that he was alive.
Elobuike Philip
However, contrary to reports circulating in some media outlets and on social media, Elobuike has not been reunited with his family or located by his kinsmen in the United States.
His relatives and members of the Nigerian community reportedly spent the entire day on August 12 searching for him in different parts of Dallas but were unable to locate him.
The family is therefore appealing to members of the public, particularly Nigerians and other individuals in the Dallas area, to assist in locating Elobuike and ensuring that he is safely reunited with his family.
The family also urged people to disregard reports claiming that he has already been found and reunited with his relatives, describing such reports as inaccurate.
Anyone who has information about Elobuike’s whereabouts or comes across him is urged to contact any of the following:
Dr. Fred Ngwu: (214) 418-8145
Moses Onyejekwe: (213) 479-2340
Law Okolo: (646) 302-2597
The family expressed appreciation to everyone who has shared his photograph and appealed for continued circulation of the information until he is successfully located.
No fewer than 205 Nigerians were deported from Canada in June 2026 as Canadian authorities intensified enforcement of the country’s immigration laws, according to official figures released by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
Immigration removal statistics published by the CBSA showed that 10,607 individuals were removed from Canada during the month, with Nigerians ranking among the top 10 nationalities affected by the exercise.
The figures indicate that Nigerians accounted for nearly two per cent of all removals carried out in June.
India recorded the highest number of deportations, with 3,323 nationals removed, followed by Mexico with 1,573. The United States accounted for 372 deportees, while Colombia and Romania recorded 354 and 293 removals respectively.
Other countries with significant numbers of nationals deported included Bangladesh, with 227, and Pakistan, with 207.
Explaining the rationale behind the removals, the CBSA said enforcing immigration laws was critical to protecting the integrity of Canada’s immigration system.
“Removing individuals who do not have the right to enter or stay in Canada is essential to maintaining the integrity of Canada’s immigration program and to ensuring fairness for those who come to this country lawfully,” the agency stated.
The latest figures underscore Canada’s continued enforcement against individuals found to have no legal right to remain in the country, as authorities seek to ensure compliance with the nation’s immigration laws.
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