JAKARTA - Indian nationals received the highest number of UK study visas in the year ending March 2026, according to Home Office statistics published on May 21.
The department said 90,425 study visas were granted to Indian main applicants, equal to 23% of the total, making India the largest source nationality for UK study visas in the latest 12-month period.
Chinese nationals followed closely with 88,776 study visas granted to main applicants, also accounting for 23% of the total. Nigerian nationals ranked third with 28,405 grants, or 7% of the total. The Home Office said Pakistani grants fell 27% year-on-year, Chinese grants fell 15%, and Nigerian grants rose 33%.
Overall study visa grants reached 409,954 in the year ending March 2026, down 3% from the previous year and 37% below the peak recorded in the year ending June 2023. The total included 391,572 main applicants and 18,382 dependents. Dependent grants remained far below their earlier peak after the UK restricted most taught-course students from bringing family members from January 2024.
Study visas cover international students entering the UK through a licensed education provider. The post-study Graduate route lets eligible students who completed a UK degree stay to work or look for work for up to two years, or three years for PhD graduates.
The Home Office said the trend has been driven mainly by master’s-level study. Grants for students coming to the UK for master’s courses reached 234,992 in the latest year, down 3% from the previous year and 25% below the year ending March 2023. Bachelor’s-level study accounted for 109,483 grants, or 29% of the total.
The same release also showed a sharper fall after study. Post-study visa extension grants fell 36% to 167,214 in the year ending March 2026, compared with the year ending March 2025. The Home Office said the decline came mainly from dependent grants, which fell 75% over the same period.
Indian nationals still formed the largest post-study graduate route group, with 70,371 grants. Pakistani nationals ranked second with 24,404, followed by Nigerian nationals with 22,099. Grants fell for all three nationalities, with Nigerian nationals recording the steepest decline after grants fell by nearly two-thirds.
