The United Kingdom plans to charge universities in England £925 annually for every international student, including Nigerians, under a new funding policy scheduled to begin in August 2028.
The proposed levy, equivalent to approximately $1,200, will be imposed on higher education institutions to help finance maintenance grants for disadvantaged British undergraduate students. Although universities will be responsible for paying the charge, the policy could add to the financial pressures facing institutions that depend heavily on overseas enrolments.
Nigeria is among the countries likely to be significantly affected by the policy, alongside China and India, which account for a substantial proportion of international students entering British universities.
The Brandspur Global News Desk understands that the proposed charge comes as British universities contend with declining international student visa applications, tighter immigration requirements and concerns about the financial sustainability of overseas recruitment.
Under the proposed arrangement, universities will pay the levy for international students registered on eligible courses during an academic year. The charge will not be limited to newly admitted students, as continuing international students will also become liable for the annual payment when they reach the anniversary of their initial registration.
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The British government expects the scheme to generate £445 million in the 2028/29 academic year, rising to £465 million in 2029/30 and £480 million in 2030/31. Those projections, however, were calculated on the assumption that international student recruitment would remain relatively stable.
The money is intended to support undergraduate students from households earning up to £30,000 annually. Eligible students would receive grants of up to £1,000 a year during their first two years, with the amount falling to £750 in subsequent years.
Eligibility is expected to focus on courses linked to the government’s industrial strategy, including engineering and healthcare.
The proposed levy has attracted criticism from the National Union of Students and the Russell Group, both of which have raised concerns about the funding arrangement.
For Nigerian students considering studying in the UK, the development adds to an already challenging recruitment environment. While the levy is formally payable by universities rather than individual students, institutions will have to account for the additional cost when planning their finances and international recruitment.
Whether universities absorb the expense or adjust their approach to overseas admissions remains uncertain.
Official UK Home Office figures show that China, India and Nigeria were the three largest nationalities receiving sponsored study visas in the year ending June 2026. Together, they accounted for approximately 54 per cent of visas granted to main applicants.
The policy is also emerging against a backdrop of declining demand for British student visas. Applications fell by 22 per cent over the past year and by more than 30 per cent compared with three years earlier.
Other measures have tightened the conditions for recruiting international students. In June 2025, the government reduced the maximum permitted student visa refusal rate for university sponsors from 10 per cent to five per cent. Since January 2024, most international students have also been barred from bringing dependants to the UK.
In March 2026, further student visa restrictions were introduced for nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan.
The stricter compliance requirements have reportedly prompted some universities to withdraw admission offers from overseas applicants to avoid breaching the refusal threshold and risking the loss of their sponsorship licences.
Nigerian applicants have already faced difficulties. The proportion of UK study visa applications withdrawn by Nigerians rose to 22.7 per cent in the first half of 2026, compared with 4.5 per cent during the corresponding period in 2025, according to figures previously reported by Nairametrics.
The British government also abandoned its annual target of attracting 600,000 international students in January 2026, replacing it with a strategy focused on growing education exports to £40 billion by 2030.
With the new levy scheduled to take effect in August 2028, universities will have time to prepare for the additional expense. However, the combination of recruitment pressures, stricter visa rules and rising compliance obligations could make the UK a more complicated destination for Nigerian students seeking international qualifications.
