Highlights
- UAE federal funding for UK university scholarships curtailed while wealthier families can still pay privately for British education.
- Emirati student numbers in Britain doubled from 2017 to 2024, reaching 8,500, potentially facing major impact from restrictions.
- Muslim Brotherhood proscribed as terrorist organisation by UAE but not UK despite 2014 David Cameron inquiry.
The United Arab Emirates is restricting students from enrolling at UK universities amid fears campuses are being radicalised by Islamist groups, officials have confirmed.
Abu Dhabi federal funding for state scholarships has been limited for citizens hoping to study in Britain, officials told the Financial Times and the Times.
Those with knowledge of the situation cite tensions over Britain's decision not to proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood and concerns about its influence on university campuses.
Radicalisation fears
The Muslim Brotherhood is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UAE, which has long campaigned for European nations including Britain to do the same.
The Emirati government is not imposing a blanket ban, meaning wealthier families can still send their children to study in the UK if they pay privately, while significant funding continues for those seeking university degrees elsewhere.
Dozens of suspected Brotherhood members were rounded up and jailed in the country, and the government supported the Egyptian military when it overthrew the presidency of group member Mohammed Morsi in 2013.
The UAE led a lobbying campaign that prompted David Cameron's Conservative government to launch an inquiry into the group in 2014.
John Jenkins, a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, concluded its beliefs were opposed to British values but did not find sufficient evidence to ban it. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has vowed to proscribe the Brotherhood if he becomes prime minister.
Concerns exist in Britain that the group has infiltrated university campuses, using student organisations to invite Islamist speakers who give lectures that flirt with extremism.
The UAE's move to restrict state-funded students from studying in the UK could significantly impact their numbers on British campuses, which have doubled between 2017 and 2024 to reach 8,500.
This represents a substantial shift in educational partnerships between the two nations, potentially affecting universities that have become increasingly dependent on international student fees.
