UK's Study Visa Applications Overview: The United Kingdom (UK)has seen its first rise in study visa applications in over a year. The number of students applying for study visas has increased by 13 percent in January 2025, compared to the same time last year. In total, there were 28,700 applications, which is 7 percent  more than in January 2023.

This increase comes after a drop in applications due to restrictions in 2024 that stopped most international students' family members from joining them. While the overall number of study visa applications has gone up, the number of applications from dependants remains low. Only 2,300 dependants applied in January 2025, down from 3,400 in January 2024. This is also much lower than the 17,500 dependants who applied two years ago.

This is the first time since October 2023 that monthly visa applications have increased compared to the previous year. However, in the year leading up to January 2025, the total number of study visa applications was 411,100, which is 13 percent  less than the previous year. Applications from dependants dropped by 84 percent  during the same period.

The restriction on dependants, introduced during former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s time, allows family members to join only students in postgraduate research programs. Despite the financial pressure on UK universities due to fewer students, the Labour government has kept this rule in place.

In 2023/24, India had the highest number of study visa grants, with 154,100 students receiving visas. China followed with 109,615 students getting study visas in the same year.

Experts say that the latest numbers show positive signs for UK universities, although they still face challenges with fewer students and tight funding.

In 2023-2024, the number of dependents joining students in the UK dropped a lot. This happened because of a new rule for courses starting after January 1, 2024. The rule says only research-based postgraduate students can bring their dependents, like partners and children, to the UK.

Between January and September 2024, the number of dependent visas granted fell by 84%. It dropped from 114,293 to 17,978 compared to the same months in 2023. This rule change may have also led to fewer main applicant visas being granted, which went down by 16% during this time.

Other factors may have also played a role in this drop in visa applications.