Basic Compliance Assessment: the refusal threshold for sponsors tightens to 5 percent

The Basic Compliance Assessment is the annual test every licensed sponsor passes to keep recruiting international students. The tightened thresholds move the risk onto the university: a refused Indian student now costs the institution a share of a much smaller margin.

Universities respond by screening before the CAS: their own credibility interviews, proof-of-funds checks before the offer is unconditional, and refusal of CAS to applicants with a prior refusal on file. The CAS-readiness check on this site mirrors those screens.

Applicants from Punjab with a previous UK or other refusal should declare it to the university early; a CAS withdrawn after the visa application is submitted means a refusal and a lost fee.