Recruitment & agents

Vietnam is seeking to shift from a major outbound student market to an international study destination, driven by policy reform, English-medium growth and expanding TNE partnerships.

The UK government has reiterated that universities risk having their sponsor license revoked if they do not keep within new compliance requirements.

Redundancies continue to sweep the UK higher education sector as mounting financial pressures force universities to implement cost-cutting measures.

University leaders in the UK have warned that institutions are increasingly making high-stakes admissions and compliance decisions without enough shared data, as visa refusals, rising student costs and recruitment pressures reshape international recruitment strategies.

Institutions are preparing for rising airfares and potential travel disruption ahead of key student intakes, while students and families navigate visa delays and broader affordability pressures.

The Home Office has published an amendment to the student sponsor compliance policy, clarifying that only visa refusal decisions that are successfully overturned by administrative review will be exempt from BCA calculations.

Highly anticipated and controversial new compliance requirements for UK universities come into force today, with immigration specialists warning the measures could have "potentially devastating consequences" for institutions that fail to meet increasingly stringent benchmarks.

An apparent blind spot in visa processing that could impact university RAG ratings has emerged as international students are encouraged to dispute visa decisions through the administrative review process, potentially exempting them from BCA calculations.

As conversations around England's upcoming international student levy intensify, Vincenzo Raimo looks across the world to an existing model that's been in place for decades.

This week, The PIE held the inaugural Compliance Con, bringing together compliance experts from across the UK sector. As tightened BCA thresholds loom, editor Beth Kennedy unpacks key takeaways from the event.

A major study abroad agent has told The PIE it was forced to close offices in Pakistan for more than 10 days after a man with a gun demanded a refund of his tuition fee deposit after being refused a visa to study in the UK.

New Zealand’s international education recovery is accelerating, with enrolments climbing 11% year-on-year to reach 92,580 students in 2025, according to new figures from Education New Zealand (ENZ).

Immigration New Zealand has published the top-performing agents for nine source countries based on application volume and visa approval rates. The data also reveals a higher visa approval rate for agent-linked applications than in previous years.

UK MPs have raised concerns over new visa compliance metrics, the international student levy and lack of government planning for a potential major university collapse.

A survey of 254 universities across 36 countries has found a significant decline in international enrolments, with institutions pointing to restrictive policies and visa issues as key factors.