How to navigate tightening global education visa landscape – Sable International’s Brent Morris

Studying abroad is becoming more complex for South African students as visa rules tighten, and compliance thresholds rise. Brent Morris from Sable International told BizNews that UK institutions now risk losing their licence to sponsor international students if over 5% of visa applications are rejected. He said, while the UK and USA remain top choices, interest is growing in postgraduate options in Germany, Spain, Ireland, and Australia. Sable International, which claims a 100% placement success rate, recently secured a German university acceptance in just two hours. Morris says the company stays closely connected with students, helping them land internships and jobs abroad. And the most common question asked by parents: "How will my child feed themselves?". The company is hosting educational expos across South Africa in September, offering students a chance to meet university representatives and advisers.

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Edited transcript of the transcript

Linda van Tilburg (00:02.451)  

There are currently thousands of young South Africans studying abroad, and many more wanting to study abroad, chasing opportunity, education, and sometimes just a bit of distance from home. But sometimes getting the offer is difficult, and often that’s only the beginning. I’ve had calls from friends and some South African families I don’t even know to help with their children studying abroad. So, we have Brent Morris Morris from Sable International, a company that specialises in smoothing the path for South Africans studying abroad, in the studio with us. Hello, Brent Morris, lovely to see you again.

Brent Morris (01:17.974)  

Hi there, it’s great to be back on and lovely to speak with you.

Linda van Tilburg (01:21.662)  

Tell me, are many students already studying overseas, and are many keen to go?

Brent Morris (01:28.984)  

The numbers are in the hundreds of thousands studying abroad globally—not just South Africans. It’s a big trend in many developing countries where universities are oversubscribed because there aren’t enough to accommodate the growing youth population. Governments haven’t always planned or developed university systems to cope. In countries like India, Nigeria, and South Africa, there’s a large youth population, and often not enough universities. So, the alternative is studying overseas. It creates great opportunities for employment, experience, and life skills. Returning home with that experience, there are some impressive case studies of students doing really well. Beyond getting a degree from an international university, it’s often the life experience that matters. We love helping students with that, and we do it very well.

Linda van Tilburg (02:44.451)  

Let’s focus on South Africa. How many South Africans want to study overseas, and do they find it easy to get a place or difficult to cope once there?

Brent Morris (02:58.146)  

Statistically, around 12,000 South African students study abroad each year. The UK and USA are the top destinations, followed by Australia, Canada, Ireland, and even less common places like Saudi Arabia or Iran. South Africans are quite an international community, so they’re studying all over. The UK and USA are the main focus, where most students are heading, but it’s still a challenge, and they definitely need support.

Linda van Tilburg (03:51.426)  

Is it more difficult to get into a UK university?

Brent Morris (03:57.91)  

No, I wouldn’t say it’s difficult, but the process can be overwhelming. There are 140 universities in the UK and over 4,000 in the USA. Choosing the right university and course is the real challenge. When you’re spending that kind of money to study overseas, you don’t want to get it wrong. It’s vital to do thorough research to find the right university for the right programme. South Africans often follow where friends went, like wanting to go to Edinburgh because a mate studied there, but that might not suit their course, like a creative subject. It’s about finding the right fit for you.  

The other challenge is after the application—getting a visa, which is becoming more complex. UK universities are under stricter government scrutiny to ensure students have the right financials and documents. They can’t afford to have more than 5% of their students’ visas rejected globally, so there’s more scrutiny on applications. That’s where we step in, with OISC-registered (now IAA) migration agents to help.

Brent Morris (06:23.778)  

We handle thousands of visas every year—literally thousands. We know what we’re doing. Why do it alone when you don’t need to? In most cases, because we work for the university, they cover the cost of our service, so it’s not an extra expense for the student.

Linda van Tilburg (06:46.232)  

You claim a high success rate. How successful are you at getting students into the right universities?

Brent Morris (06:56.118)  

We have a 100% success rate for placements. That doesn’t mean we can guarantee your top-choice university. If someone says, “I want Oxford,” but their grades aren’t up to scratch, we can’t promise that. Instead, we’ll suggest universities where we believe they can get in. On average, we apply to five universities per student and secure at least one offer. If a student insists on applying to a university we think is unlikely, that’s their choice, and we exclude it from our stats. But if we recommend five universities, we guarantee at least one offer. Our visa success rate is around 99% across countries like the UK and USA, which is high considering we process thousands.

Linda van Tilburg (07:56.794)  

With Oxford, you can’t just apply to “Oxford”—you apply to a specific college, and your chances vary depending on the college. I’ve experienced this with one of my own children. So, if you aim for, say, Jesus College, you might still get into Oxford via another college. Guidance is crucial, isn’t it?

Brent Morris (08:29.282)  

Exactly. The Oxbridge application process is earlier than most, and medicine requires a UCAT test for many medical schools. It can be confusing, but sometimes simpler than people think. Most UK universities accept the IEB standard matric, but there’s a lot of misinformation out there. Students ask, “Do I need SATs for the UK?” No, that’s for the USA. But they might not know they need a UCAT for medical schools. There’s confusion in parent groups, which can make things trickier. We have a straightforward, staged process to guide students clearly through each step.

Linda van Tilburg (09:52.018)  

In the UK, if you want to study law, you need an LNAT, which is different. Once a student is on the plane, do you still play a role?

Brent Morris (10:05.506)  

Yes, we do. Our service technically ends once they’re enrolled, but we’re always available. Parents often call if something goes wrong. We love hearing from students about their journey. One called me recently—he’d graduated, done a year’s internship at a law firm, and landed a job in a US law firm doing international law. He was thrilled and thanked us for changing his life. We all got a bit emotional celebrating his success. That’s what makes it special for us.

Linda van Tilburg (11:00.083)  

What’s the most common crisis South African parents call you about?

Brent Morris (11:03.406)  

It’s usually practical things, like, “How will my child feed themselves?” Questions about the cafeteria or where to shop. We get calls about flights, travel logistics, that sort of thing. We run pre-departure events to help. After graduation, our UK immigration team can assist with graduate visas, professional visas, or even naturalisation. We don’t find jobs, but once they have an employer, we can help with naturalisation process. It’s a straightforward process with the right support.

Linda van Tilburg (12:25.443)  

We’ve talked a lot about the UK. What about the USA, Europe, or Australia?

Brent Morris (12:31.98)  

The USA is interesting with the current political climate, but students are still very keen. We do a lot of sports placements there, and they’re very successful. Australia’s immigration has fluctuated, but it’s stabilising, with great universities, locations, and post-study opportunities. Europe’s coming up too—Germany, Spain, Ireland—offering lower costs than the UK, USA, or Australia. Many programmes are in English, and Germany offers post-study work visas. South Africans assimilate well, especially with our Afrikaans background, which helps with languages like German or Dutch. Students from all backgrounds tend to settle in easily because the culture aligns quite well.

Brent Morris (13:30.476)  

Germany’s multicultural and welcoming, with a need for workers in health, IT, and engineering. There’s a lot of opportunity there.

Linda van Tilburg (15:00.808)  

I know South African students who’ve done master’s degrees in English in France and Spain and managed well because these programmes cater to international students, so language isn’t an issue.

Brent Morris (15:17.806)  

Yes, South Africans adapt really well. Programmes are taught in English, but I recommend learning the local language on the side. It helps you settle in faster, even if your job doesn’t require it.

Linda van Tilburg (15:48.884)  

Do you need good grades to get into these overseas universities?

Brent Morris (15:51.982)  

It depends on the university. There are foundation programmes in most countries for students with average grades. But the better your grades, the more options you have. That’s the key point.

Linda van Tilburg (16:22.618)  

Finally, if someone’s considering this process now, why shouldn’t they do it alone?

Brent Morris (16:29.152)  

It can be really confusing on your own. You’re just a number to the university, and it takes longer to get an offer, with back-and-forth about documents. We work for the universities, have direct portals, and know them inside out. We turned around a German offer in two hours recently because the documents were perfect. We check immigration requirements, financial eligibility, and affordability upfront to avoid wasting time. With visas, our thorough checklists ensure everything matches what immigration bodies need. For example, when Ireland changed its visa rules for South Africans last year, we got every student’s visa through without a single rejection because we knew the process.

Linda van Tilburg (18:47.162)  

The cost of using Sable International is covered by the universities, correct?

Brent Morris (19:00.94)  

Yes, for our partner universities—about 70% of UK ones—it’s covered. For non-partner universities, there’s a fee, which we can explain to students if needed.

Linda van Tilburg (01:51.789)  

If people want to start this journey with you, where do they get information?

Brent Morris (02:00.848)  

We have an international education expo in September. I’ll run through the dates and locations. It runs from one to seven o’clock. You can just show up, but you can register at sableinternational.com if you prefer. It’s an expo-style event where you can mingle, speak to universities, and talk to our team about the process, open to undergraduates, postgraduates, and professionals. The dates are: 8th September in Johannesburg at Beaulieu College, open to undergraduates, postgraduates, and professionals, then 9th September in KZN at Kearsney College. Finally, 10th September in Stellenbosch at Paul Roos Gymnasium—most people know where that is. It’s free to attend, so come along and meet the team.