UKVI ratings, live since 1 June 2026
Green List UK Universities 2026: What a UKVI Green Rating Means
Students in Nepal are being offered “green list” universities as if a list existed. It does not, yet. This is what a green rating means, what it does not promise, and how to choose a university safely until UKVI publishes the ratings.
HOA’s own explanation of published Home Office rules. It is not a UKVI list, it names no university as green, amber or red, and it is admissions guidance, not immigration advice.
The three bands, from the Home Office’s own table
Student sponsor compliance, paragraph 2.28. A university’s rating is its worst metric, not an average.
| Metric | Green | Amber | Red |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa refusal rate | <4% | 4% to <5% | 5% or more |
| Enrolment rate | 96% or more | 95% to <96% | <95% |
| Course completion rate* | 92% or more | 90% to <92% | <90% |
*Completion is not part of a university’s first rating. It counts from assessments made on or after 1 June 2027. Checked 14 October 2026.
Is There an Official Green List of UK Universities?
No. UKVI has not published any university’s rating, so no one can give you a verified green list. A university is green only if every metric is green: a visa refusal rate under 4% and an enrolment rate of 96% or more. From assessments made on or after 1 June 2027, a course completion rate of 92% or more is also needed.
A green rating means the rating puts no limit on the CAS a university can issue. It does not mean your own visa will be granted, and it does not stop UKVI taking other compliance action against the university. Ratings will be published only once every university has had its first one, so HOA does not expect a public list before summer 2027. This page names no university as green.
The facts at a glance
Checked against the sources cited on 14 October 2026.
- Green if
- Every metric green: refusal rate under 4% and enrolment 96% or more. Completion 92% or more counts from assessments made on or after 1 June 2027.Home Office, Student sponsor compliance, paras 2.28 and 2.29
- How it is decided
- By the worst metric, not an average. One amber or red metric means the university is not green.Student sponsor compliance, para 2.29
- CAS
- No restriction from the rating. Amber universities cannot grow their CAS and red universities have theirs cut.Student sponsor compliance, paras 2.45 and 2.65
- What green does not do
- It does not prevent UKVI taking other non-compliance action against the university.Mills & Reeve on the June 2026 guidance
- When ratings go public
- Only after every sponsor has had its first rating; all first ratings are then uploaded together.Student sponsor compliance, para 2.87
- The pressure to stay green
- Green needs a refusal rate under 4%. The UK-wide rate was 4.9% in the year to June 2026, and Nepal’s was 4.6%.Home Office statistics, compiled by The PIE News
- How long a rating lasts
- Until the next assessment, a year later.Student sponsor compliance, para 2.41
- The licence comes first
- A rating does not protect a licence. The Home Office revoked Bloomsbury Institute’s on 5 August 2026 after it failed its assessment.Home Office news, 6 August 2026
Why HOA Does Not Publish a Green List
Because nobody can, honestly, yet. Each university receives its rating privately in a Basic Compliance Assessment Outcome Notice. The Home Office’s guidance says no rating is published until every sponsor has had its first one, and then all are uploaded together. Until then a “green list” is somebody’s opinion presented as a fact.
Lists built from university groups do not fix that. Membership of the Russell Group, or the age of a university, says nothing about its visa refusal or enrolment rates over the last 12 months, which are the only things the rating measures.
What Does a University Need to Be Green?
All of the following, measured over the 12 months before its assessment.
The green band for each metric, from the Home Office’s Student sponsor compliance guidance (para 2.28), checked 14 October 2026.
| Metric | Green if | In plain terms |
|---|---|---|
| Visa refusal rate | Under 4% | Fewer than 1 refused visa for every 25 CAS used |
| Enrolment rate | 96% or more | At least 24 of every 25 students granted a visa actually enrol |
| Course completion rate | 92% or more, from 1 June 2027 assessments | Not part of the first rating |
What a Green Rating Does and Does Not Mean
- It does meanthe university’s CAS are not limited by its rating, and it is under no rating-related action plan or final warning.
- It does not meanyour visa will be granted. Every application is decided on its own evidence: your funds, documents, course choice and credibility.
- It does not meanthe university is safe from all action. A rating does not stop UKVI acting on other compliance failures, and a licence can be suspended for reasons that have nothing to do with the three metrics.
- It does not meanthe course is right for you. The rating measures visas, not teaching, fees, location or jobs.
The licence itself matters more than the colour. The Home Office revoked Bloomsbury Institute’s licence on 5 August 2026 after it failed its Basic Compliance Assessment, and suspended Buckinghamshire New University’s on 30 September 2026 over its sponsor duties. Both were published on GOV.UK the day they happened. Follow the BNU case.
How Universities Are Trying to Stay Green, and What It Means for You
Green needs a visa refusal rate under 4%. Across all countries the rate for UK study visas was 4.9% in the year to June 2026, and for Nepali applicants 4.6% (Home Office figures, compiled by The PIE News). Any university recruiting widely therefore has to check applicants harder than the average to stay green.
What universities have been reported doing to keep refusal rates down in 2026, and what each means for an applicant from Nepal.
| What universities are doing | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| More checks before issuing a CAS | Funds, academic documents and course fit are examined earlier. Have them ready before you ask for a CAS |
| Withdrawing a CAS before the visa decision, which keeps it out of the refusal rate (para 2.19) | Ask in writing what the university does if you are invited to a credibility interview, and what happens to your deposit |
| Pausing recruitment from high-refusal countries (about 15 universities for Pakistan, per a Financial Times analysis) | Nepal was not named. Policies can change between intakes, so confirm before you pay a deposit |
The students who receive a CAS from a careful university are the ones whose applications are complete and credible. That is within your control: 28-day funds at any of Nepal’s 20 Class A commercial banks, a course that fits your record, and interview preparation.
How to Choose a University While No Ratings Are Public
Rely on what can be checked. These five questions do most of the work a green list would, and they will still matter after the ratings are published.
Five checks for shortlisting a UK university, and where to find each answer.
| Question | Where to check |
|---|---|
| Is it licensed to sponsor students? | The GOV.UK register of licensed sponsors: students |
| Has the Home Office acted against it? | GOV.UK, searching the university’s name with “sponsor licence” |
| When is the CAS deadline for my intake? | The university, in writing |
| What happens to my deposit if the visa is refused? | The university’s refund policy |
| Does the course fit my academic record and plans? | Entry requirements, and the questions a credibility interview will ask |
Want a shortlist checked? HOA checks the public record for every university on it, free, and tells you plainly what it can and cannot find.
Check my shortlistWork Out a Rating From the Three Rates
Enter the three rates to see which band the Home Office’s table gives. It shows how the rules work. It cannot look up a real university: no university’s rates or rating are public.
Bands from Student sponsor compliance, paragraph 2.28; the worst metric decides (2.29); completion is not part of the first rating (2.88). Universities with fewer than 100 students in a metric may be moved up by a discretionary assessment (2.74).
How to Build a Safe Shortlist in Six Steps
A shortlist that survives whatever the ratings turn out to be.
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Start from the course, not a list
Pick courses that fit your degree, grades and plans. A credibility interview will ask why this course.
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Check every name on the register
Confirm each university is on the register of licensed sponsors: students.
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Search for Home Office action
Search GOV.UK for each university’s name with “sponsor licence” to find any suspension or revocation.
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Ask about CAS deadlines and interviews
Ask each university in writing for its CAS deadline for your intake, and what it does if you are invited to a credibility interview.
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Compare refund terms
Prefer the offer whose deposit terms protect you if the visa is refused or no CAS is issued.
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Apply to more than one
Two or three suitable offers mean one problem cannot cost you the intake.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. UKVI has not published any rating. First ratings will be uploaded together only once every sponsor has had one, and HOA does not expect that before summer 2027. Any green list today is unofficial.
Every one of the university’s metrics is green: a visa refusal rate under 4% and an enrolment rate of 96% or more, plus a completion rate of 92% or more from assessments made on or after 1 June 2027. The rating then puts no limit on its CAS.
No. Your visa is decided on your own application: funds, documents, course choice and credibility. The university’s rating does not grant or refuse it.
No one outside UKVI and each university knows. Ratings are not public, and Russell Group membership says nothing about a university’s visa refusal or enrolment rates.
Ones that are licensed, have no published Home Office action against them, fit your academic record, and give clear CAS deadlines and fair refund terms. Those can all be checked now; a rating cannot.
No one outside UKVI and each university knows yet. Ratings are sent privately and will be published together once every sponsor has had its first one, which HOA does not expect before summer 2027. A university’s presence on the register of licensed sponsors can be checked today.
The Student route is open to Nepali applicants: 17,150 study visas were issued to Nepali nationals in the year to June 2026, with 4.6% of decided applications refused. The main risks are a weak application and a university whose licence is suspended or revoked, and both can be checked before you pay.
Download the register of licensed sponsors: students from GOV.UK and search for the university’s name. It is updated on most working days, and a suspended university is removed from it.
To keep their visa refusal rate under the 5% red line, and under 4% to stay green. A CAS withdrawn before the visa decision is not counted in that rate. The red list page has the figures, including Nepal’s.
Yes. A rating does not stop UKVI acting on other compliance failures, and a licence can be suspended or revoked for reasons beyond the three metrics.
Until the university’s next Basic Compliance Assessment, a year later. Any university can move between bands from one year to the next.
UKVI will publish all first ratings on the register of licensed sponsors at the same time, once every sponsor has received one. Because assessments fall due across the year from 1 June 2026, HOA does not expect this before summer 2027.
The Home Office left completion out of the first rating. It counts from assessments made on or after 1 June 2027, with green at 92% or more.
HOA cannot know which universities are green, and does not claim to. It avoids universities with a suspended or revoked licence, checks the public record for every shortlist, and checks each student’s own application in detail.
The UKVI RAG system explainer covers all three bands; the amber and red pages cover the other two.
The UKVI Rating Guides
Each guide answers one question. Start with the explainer if the ratings are new to you.
- UKVI RAG system explainedHow the Green, Amber and Red ratings work
- Green list UK universitiesWhat a green rating means for you
- Amber list UK universitiesWhat an amber rating means for you
- Red list UK universitiesWhat a red rating means for you
- BNU licence suspensionA live case, tracked daily
- UK universities for Nepali studentsFees, entry and locations
Key Terms
- RAG rating
- The Red, Amber or Green rating UKVI gives each student sponsor at its Basic Compliance Assessment, in force since 1 June 2026.
- Green rating
- A sponsor with every metric green. The rating places no limit on its CAS.
- Basic Compliance Assessment (BCA)
- UKVI’s yearly check of a sponsor’s visa refusal, enrolment and completion rates.
- Register of licensed sponsors
- The GOV.UK list of organisations licensed to sponsor students, published as a dated file and updated on most working days.
- Enrolment rate
- The share of students granted a visa with a sponsor’s CAS who then enrolled.
- CAS
- Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies: the reference a licensed sponsor issues so a student can apply for a visa.
Sources
Every rule and figure on this page was checked against these sources on 14 October 2026. If GOV.UK and this page ever disagree, GOV.UK is right.
- Home Office, Student sponsor compliance (updated 1 June 2026)
- Home Office, Student sponsor guidance: all documents
- Home Office, Register of licensed sponsors: students
- GOV.UK, Students: if your education provider loses its sponsor licence
- Home Office, Bloomsbury Institute’s student sponsor licence revoked
- Home Office, Immigration system statistics, year ending June 2026
- The PIE News, In focus: how UK unis are staying under the 5% BCA threshold (5 October 2026)
- THISDAY, reporting a Financial Times analysis, UK universities withdraw admission offers over visa crackdown (11 October 2026)
- UKCISA, Tightened BCA metrics and new RAG rating now live
- Mills & Reeve, Tighter UKVI compliance requirements for HE providers
About This Guide
Who wrote it. House of Admissions (HOA), a UK-only education consultancy founded in 2016, with offices in Kathmandu and Pokhara. All 20+ HOA counsellors hold the British Council’s UK counsellor certification, and HOA’s guidance is free to students.
What it is based on. The Home Office’s own guidance and announcements. HOA has no access to any university’s compliance data or rating, and this page does not guess at them.
Who checked it. Reviewed by Rahul Chhetri, Director. Every rule and figure was checked against the sources above on , and each one links to its source.
What it is not. Admissions guidance, not immigration advice. For advice on your own case, speak to a solicitor or an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Related Guides
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