Hundreds of international students, including around 200 from China, have been left in uncertainty after University College London (UCL) exceeded its visa allocations just days before the new academic year began. Students were told they could no longer be issued Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), a document required to apply for a UK student visa, despite having secured unconditional offers.
UCL attributed the situation to an extraordinary surge in demand, which resulted in higher-than-expected acceptances. The university admitted its planning relied on historic trends and attrition rates, but those estimates fell short this year. As a result, UCL said it was urgently negotiating with the Home Office to obtain more CAS numbers and has offered affected students the option to defer their studies to 2026.
Several students told the media they had already spent thousands of pounds on travel, application fees, and accommodation. One student who had arrived in the UK warned they now faced deportation without a valid visa. Another said they were offered the possibility of remote learning while awaiting resolution.
“We are model applicants,” said one Chinese student. “We did everything right and met every deadline. Now, instead of starting our courses, we’re suffering the consequences of a failure we could never have predicted.”
In a statement, UCL apologised for the confusion caused and said it was directly contacting affected students with support options. The Home Office, while declining to comment on UCL’s specific case, stressed that managing visa allocations is the responsibility of individual institutions.
UCL has one of the UK’s largest international student populations, with over half of its 52,000 students from overseas and around 14,000 from mainland China. Some affected students have reportedly sought assistance from China’s foreign ministry.
