Universities across the United Kingdom reported unprecedented, round-the-clock activity in their visa and admissions offices on 24–25 March as they scrambled to issue Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) numbers ahead of the 26 March “visa brake” deadline. According to Russell Group administrators who spoke to Global Mobility News, several institutions processed in 48 hours the volume of CAS they would normally handle in a fortnight, focusing almost exclusively on applicants from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan—the four nationalities now barred from applying overseas. University of Glasgow said it logged a 260 % spike in CAS requests from Cameroonian postgraduate candidates, while a midlands technical university reported pulling academic staff off Easter-break duties to verify English-language scores. Some providers resorted to issuing conditional CAS—normally avoided because of compliance risk—in a bid to give students at least the chance to file before the brake came down.
![Last-Minute Rush for UK Student Visas Strains University CAS Systems]()
For students and university compliance teams scrambling to meet UK entry requirements, VisaHQ can smooth the path: the agency’s online portal consolidates visa appointment scheduling, document verification and courier services in one place, reducing the risk of last-minute errors. More information is available at https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/
The Home Office has reminded sponsors that usual accuracy obligations apply; errors could trigger licence downgrades. The frantic activity has exposed wider vulnerabilities in the UK’s international-student recruitment model. Many institutions rely on agents in the affected countries to pre-screen candidates and collect documents, but rolling electricity cuts and unreliable internet in parts of Sudan and Myanmar hampered file transfer, leaving admissions teams to work with scanned photos of paperwork. Sponsors now face the prospect of managing large cohorts whose visa outcomes remain uncertain, with deposit refunds, deferred start dates and accommodation contracts all in limbo. Longer term, universities are exploring diversification away from high-risk markets and accelerated adoption of digital document-verification tools. Legal advisers recommend that compliance teams perform retrospective audits of the emergency CAS issued this week to minimise exposure under Part 29 of the Sponsorship Guidance.
For students and university compliance teams scrambling to meet UK entry requirements, VisaHQ can smooth the path: the agency’s online portal consolidates visa appointment scheduling, document verification and courier services in one place, reducing the risk of last-minute errors. More information is available at https://www.visahq.com/united-kingdom/
The Home Office has reminded sponsors that usual accuracy obligations apply; errors could trigger licence downgrades. The frantic activity has exposed wider vulnerabilities in the UK’s international-student recruitment model. Many institutions rely on agents in the affected countries to pre-screen candidates and collect documents, but rolling electricity cuts and unreliable internet in parts of Sudan and Myanmar hampered file transfer, leaving admissions teams to work with scanned photos of paperwork. Sponsors now face the prospect of managing large cohorts whose visa outcomes remain uncertain, with deposit refunds, deferred start dates and accommodation contracts all in limbo. Longer term, universities are exploring diversification away from high-risk markets and accelerated adoption of digital document-verification tools. Legal advisers recommend that compliance teams perform retrospective audits of the emergency CAS issued this week to minimise exposure under Part 29 of the Sponsorship Guidance.
