UK student visa delays: universities report waits of up to four months

UK student visa delays are leaving some international students without a decision weeks after their courses have started, and universities say refusals are rising too. The Independent reported on Tuesday 20 October 2026 that some applications are taking up to four months, against the three-week standard that UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) publishes.

If you have applied, or are about to apply, for a UK Student visa from abroad, this affects you. It also matters to families paying deposits and to anyone holding a conditional offer for a January start.

What is happening?

According to the Independent, universities are seeing visa decisions arrive late enough that students miss enrolment cut-off dates, lose scholarships or pay to rebook flights. The report says even the priority service, which costs an extra £500, is experiencing delays. UKVI’s own processing times guidance gives three weeks as the usual time for a Student visa decision from outside the UK.

University Alliance, which represents 20 professional and technical universities, told the paper it had “grave concerns” about delays and refusals, and said some visas were being refused for “fairly arbitrary and unpredictable reasons”. Universities UK, the Russell Group and the Higher Education Policy Institute also raised concerns about the predictability of decisions.

What does the Home Office say?

A Home Office spokesperson told the Independent: “We are processing straightforward applications within our published service standards.” The spokesperson added that international students are welcome but that this “must not be at the expense of the integrity of our immigration system.”

So the official position is that straightforward cases are being decided on time. The Home Office has not said which of the delays reported by universities are in cases it treats as not straightforward.

The wider picture

Home Office statistics published on 8 October 2026 show 352,500 Sponsored study visa applications from main applicants in the year ending September 2026 (1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026), 19% lower than in the year ending September 2025. The figures are provisional.

The Independent also reports that Student visas are restricted for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan. This refers to the “visa brake” the government introduced on 26 March 2026. According to the Home Office, it applies to entry clearance, meaning applications made outside the UK, and is based on the main applicant’s nationality. It concerns new Student applications from abroad; it does not cancel visas people already hold. The Home Office says the nationalities affected represent a small proportion of Sponsored study visa applications.

What can applicants do now?

• Apply as early as your CAS allows. You can usually apply up to six months before your course starts, according to GOV.UK.
• Send complete financial evidence first time. Missing or late documents are a common reason for a case to fall outside “straightforward”.
• Keep proof of everything you submit, including emails and upload receipts, in case you need to challenge a decision or a missed deadline.
• Talk to your university early. International offices can often defer a start date or extend a late enrolment deadline if they know about a delay in time.
• Do not book non-refundable travel until your decision arrives.

Planning a January 2027 start?

If your course starts in January 2027, the steps above matter most because the time before enrolment is short. Families funding study from abroad may want to budget for possible rebooking costs.

Babylon will update this story if the Home Office publishes new processing times or responds to the universities’ call for a review of decision-making.

Sources

• The Independent: International students left in limbo by Home Office visa delays and refusals (20 October 2026)
• Home Office: Monthly entry clearance visa applications, September 2026 (published 8 October 2026)
• GOV.UK: Visa processing times, applications outside the UK
• GOV.UK: Student visa

Sources last checked: Tuesday 20 October 2026.

Featured image: graduates of the University of Hull gather outside Hull City Hall under the Blade installation, Friday 20 January 2017 (archive photo). Photo by Kim Dent-Brown, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.