Amber Beat Global Student Accommodation Market News - November 2025, Week 02

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Amber Beat is a weekly snapshot of the key developments in top student accommodation markets.  This newsletter provides you with all the information you need to know, from new upcoming projects to current trends, news affecting students to government policies, we’ve got you covered!

Amber Beat | News from November 08-November 14, 2025

United Kingdom

• UK updates visa rules from November 2025, raising student maintenance to £1,529 in London and £1,171 elsewhere, while sponsorship priority fees rise by up to 50% (Source)
• UK immigration reform from November 11, 2025 introduces Part Suitability framework, standardising visa refusals, overstaying rules, restructuring work, study, family, and visit routes (Source)
• UUK chief warns proposed international student fee levy could cut UK enrolments by 77,000 in five years and do little to ease visa tensions (Source)
• Cambridge and Oxford top UK universities for graduate employability in 2026 Times Higher Education Global Employability Ranking with St Andrews, Edinburgh, Cardiff also listed (Source)
• More US students choose Scottish universities as UK applications surge 14%, with one in 10 at Edinburgh now from the US amid tightening US visa and education policies (Source)
• Queen Mary University and Nanchang University launch Joint Education Institute in China, expanding medical and biomedical programs for undergraduates and postgraduates from 2026 (Source)
• UK government considers adopting Denmark’s strict immigration model to address migration concerns, sparking debate among Labour MPs over fairness, integration, and political strategy (Source)
• McLaren Property completes £30M conversion of historic Manchester site into 321-bed student housing near the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University (Source)
• Dominus secures planning approval for Stratford student housing delivering 692 beds, including 35% affordable, in 31-storey building with modern amenities and shared spaces (Source)
• Birmingham’s 16-storey Eagle Point PBSA with 263 beds, including 169 clusters and 94 studios, recommended for approval (Source)
• St Nicholas Circle PBSA in Leicester set for approval with 125 beds, replacing former Brucciani’s bakery in a new four- to seven-storey redevelopment (Source)
• Derby student accommodation on 0.25-acre site offers 23 fully let units near University of Derby, delivering £221,460 annual income with 7.09% net initial yield (Source)

United States of America

• DHS data shows US foreign‑student enrolments affected only slightly under Trump‑era visa restrictions, with bachelor’s down 0.9%, master’s down 1.7%, doctoral up 2% (Source)
• President Trump calls foreign students ‘good business,’ warning cuts would harm US universities, despite his administration’s stricter scrutiny to curb international enrolment (Source)
• Trump administration’s upcoming rule may restrict OPT, affecting post-study work options for international students; DHS cites fraud, security, and US worker protection goals (Source)
• Over 100 US campuses saw students, faculty, and staff protest against Trump administration policies, advocating academic freedom, affordable education, and student protection (Source)
• $100K H-1B fee could limit US universities’ ability to recruit international faculty and researchers, potentially affecting research, innovation, and course offerings for students (Source)
• Since January 20, the Trump administration has revoked over 8,000 student visas, according to the US State Department, as part of broader non-immigrant visa reviews (Source)
• US Education Department finalises major student‑loan reforms for students, may end Grad PLUS and set annual caps at $20,500 (graduate), $50,000 (professional) (Source)
• University of Kentucky Gaines Center opens applications for 2026–28 Gaines Fellows program offering 12 undergraduates two-year academic enrichment, research, and leadership opportunities in the humanities (Source)
• Cornell settles with Trump administration after $250M withheld, restoring federal research funding in exchange for detailed admissions reporting and oversight (Source)
• MSREI and GSA acquire $1B, 6,200-bed student housing portfolio near top US universities, Yugo appointed manager, expanding US footprint to 50 properties across 23 states (Source)
• Vesper Holdings expands Missouri student housing with 522-bed ‘The Den’ near University of Missouri, marking its third acquisition in Columbia, growing its US portfolio (Source)
• San Diego City College unveils $250M affordable student housing project with 800+ beds, prioritizing highest-need students, offering rents below $1,000, set to open April 2028 (Source)
• Columbia International University to build $19M dorms for record enrolment, adding three four-story buildings accommodating 120 students each (Source)

Australia

• Australia’s new Ministerial Direction 115 to replace MD111 introduces visa-processing tiers, offers faster visa processing for students applying to providers that are under 80% allocation (Source)
• Australia tightens international education policy amid geopolitical shifts; student visa fees hit AU$2,000, age limit cut to 35, caps set at 295,000 for 2026 (Source)
• Australia caps new international student commencements at 270,000 for 2025, boosting competition for Indian applicants who made up nearly 17% of 2024 enrolments (Source)
• Senate committee to examine Australia’s “International Education Bill” aimed at regulating overseas-student enrolments and provider integrity (Source)
• Australia higher education market valued at USD 37.3B in 2024 and projected to reach USD 71.4B by 2033, growing at 7.49% CAGR (Source)
• YouGov survey finds 18% of Australians believe universities should be free again, while 58% believe a student should pay A$5,000 or less per year, as tuition rises to A$50,000 annually and student debt surges (Source)
• Australian Department of Home Affairs mandates only in-person English tests for visas from 7 Aug 2025, disallowing online formats like IELTS Online and TOEFL Home (Source)
• Cushman & Wakefield’s Campus Quarter 2025 report reveals Australia’s PBSA occupancy hits 95-100%, urging national planning reform to meet surging student housing demand (Source)
• Australia’s Scape student-housing group shelters 19,000+ students across Adelaide as university merger nears; CEO flags surge in PBSA demand (Source)
• Wee Hur Holdings Ltd. launches new Australian PBSA fund WHF3B with A$5.9M+ independent capital to expand student-housing presence (Source)
• Australia’s DHA issues integrity alert to education providers over student-visa fraud and mis-recruitment risk (Source)

Canada

• Canada’s 2025 budget will raise the minimum required funds for international student study permits to CA$20,000 and plans to cut new study permits by 35-65% (Source)
• Canada’s new immigration plan will halve international student intake to 155,000 in 2026 and 150,000 annually in 2027-28 (Source)
• Canada’s new budget allocates CA$1.7B to attract H-1B visa holders and cuts international student intake for 2026 (Source)
• Canada to exempt international master’s and doctoral students at public institutions from study permit caps starting January 2026 (Source)
• Canada tightens rules allowing immigration officers to cancel issued study permits, work permits, and visitor visas under new legal sections 222.7, 209.01, and 180.1 (Source)
• Canada improves study-permit processing for Indian students to four weeks, while extending work-permit wait times to 10 weeks (Source)
• International students in Canada may now work up to 24 hours per week off‐campus during academic terms: IRCC (Source)
• Alignvest acquires CA$1.686B student-housing portfolio with 7K+ beds, becoming Canada’s largest student-housing platform (Source)
• Developers in Edmonton are racing to build downtown student housing amid competition for federal grant to fund about 500 units (Source)

Europe

• Visa tightening and cost surge push students toward Europe: ~30% of Chinese learners now favor Germany, ~20% France for affordability and jobs (Source)
• In 2023, Spain had just 28.6% of female students in STEM, below the EU average of 32.2%; only 15.9% in ICT, 27.1% in engineering (Source)
• French universities warn of “collapse” as unfunded health, pension, and welfare costs could hit €180M in 2025 and €230M in 2026 (Source)
• Malta’s international higher-education enrolment rises 27% to 8,252, making up 37% of all tertiary students, with an uptick in international student cohorts (Source)
• Amro Partners expands Spanish PBSA portfolio: now €230M GAV and approx. 1,400 beds by 2028 across five projects (Source)
• German investor Commerz Real pays €22.35M for 128-bed PBSA in Dublin 7, to rebrand it as Grangegorman House (Source)