UK Student Sponsors
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Higher Education Providers With a Track Record of Compliance: UK List

On 7 October 2026, 182 of the 192 higher education institution licences on the Home Office register of licensed student sponsors hold the status “Student Sponsor – Track Record”. That combination of type and status is what the Student visa and Graduate visa forms mean by a higher education provider with a track record of compliance. All 182 are listed below, followed by the 10 HEI licences that do not hold the status and the 118 licences of other sponsor types that do.

182HEIs with Track Record status
10HEIs without it
14status changes since Nov 2024
7 Oct 2026register checked

What the phrase means

The Immigration Rules define a track record of compliance as a four-year record of immigration compliance and educational oversight: a sponsor that has one is shown on the public register with the status “Student Sponsor – Track Record”. “Higher education provider” is defined separately, by how the institution is regulated; on the register those providers carry the sponsor type “Higher Education Institution (HEI)”. The status decides term-time work rights, whether dependants can come, which documents you must send and, later, Graduate visa eligibility. What the status changes, rule by rule.

Answering “What type of sponsor will you be studying with?”

The application form offers six answers. Read the Sponsor Type and Status columns on your sponsor’s Student route row and pick the one that matches:

Use the legal name on your CAS, not the trading name: a university that has renamed or merged is listed under its current legal name.

Higher education institutions with Track Record status (182)

Every entry is on the Student route. Names link to our profile where the match is unambiguous.

Swipe the table sideways to see all columns →

Higher education institutions without Track Record status (10)

These licences can sponsor a Student visa, but on 7 October 2026 they do not satisfy the track-record test. Statuses move: since 30 November 2024 our archive has seen 43 sponsors go from “Probationary Sponsor” to “Student Sponsor” and 12 gain Track Record status.

Other sponsor types with Track Record status (118)

49 publicly funded colleges, 45 private providers, 16 independent schools, 8 pathway colleges. They hold the same compliance status, but the register does not say whether they are higher education providers under the Rules. Where a college teaches a degree awarded by a university, ask which institution issues the CAS and what it is listed as.

Swipe the table sideways to see all columns →

Changes to Track Record status since 30 November 2024

Our archive of the register has recorded 12 sponsors gaining the status and 2 losing it. The register itself only ever shows today; these dates are when we first saw each change. Providers that stopped being listed altogether are in the full change log.

Frequently asked questions

Is my university a higher education provider with a track record of compliance?

Find its row on the Student route in the table above or in the full sponsor list. It is one if the Sponsor Type column says Higher Education Institution (HEI) and the Status column says Student Sponsor - Track Record. On 7 October 2026 that was true of 182 of the 192 HEI licences on the register. The status can change, so check on the day you apply.

Does the Graduate visa require a track record of compliance?

Yes. Appendix Graduate (GR 4.1) requires the applicant to have last been sponsored by a Student sponsor that is a higher education provider with a track record of compliance on the date of the Graduate visa application, not the date the course started.

Does Track Record status mean a university is better?

No. It records that the sponsor has met its immigration duties for four years and is subject to educational oversight. It is not a ranking, a teaching-quality judgement or a guarantee of admission, a CAS or a visa.

Can a college with Track Record status count as a higher education provider?

Not from the register alone. 118 licences of other sponsor types hold the same status, but whether a provider is a higher education provider under the Immigration Rules depends on how it is regulated, which the register does not show. Ask the provider to confirm in writing.

All university and HEI entries · Search the full register · Graduate visa guide

Source: Home Office student sponsor register, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Snapshot: 7 October 2026. See our methodology and limitations; always recheck GOV.UK before paying or applying.