Julien Blanc, the American “pick-up artist” who has been accused of promoting sexual assault, is to be banned from entering Britain, the Guardian has learned.

Blanc is believed to have been told by the Home Office that his application for a British visa has been rejected and he will not be allowed to enter the UK.

The decision by the home secretary, Theresa May, follows international criticism over his dating seminars. More than 150,000 people have signed a petition demanding that Britain follow Australia’s example in cancelling his visa.

The petition says: “To allow this man into the UK legitimises sexual assault and predation, and sends a message that women are playthings or objects without agency.”

Blanc, 25, who tours the world giving seminars and $2,000 (£1,250) bootcamps, was due to arrive in Britain in February for a series of events.

His critics, who include the Home Office minister, Lynne Featherstone, and the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, say he dresses up his seminars as dating advice but actually focuses on tricking women into having sex, in order to make money. His website is called Pimping My Game.

A Home Office spokesman refused to comment on an individual case. “The home secretary has the power to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good or if their exclusion is justified on public policy grounds,” he said.

“It is longstanding practice that we do not comment on individual exclusion cases unless they are made public by the excluded individual. This home secretary has excluded more foreign nationals on the grounds of unacceptable behaviour than any before her.”

This month Blanc was forced to cut short an Australian tour after widespread protests led to his visa being cancelled. The Australian immigration minister, Scott Morrison, said his government’s decision was in reaction to justified public outrage. “This guy wasn’t putting forward political ideas. He was putting forward abuse that was derogatory to women and those values are abhorred in this country,” he said.

A social media campaign has led to more than 158,000 people signing the petition against Blanc on Change.org.

Videos and pictures suggest that Blanc encourages men to harass women and lower their self-esteem in order to have sex with them.

This week Blanc issued an apology in response to the campaign. “I just want to apologise to anyone I’ve offended in any way. This was never my intention and I just want to put it out there,” he told CNN’s Chris Cuomo.

“I’m extremely sorry. Like, I feel horrible. I’m not going to be happy to feel like I’m the most hated man in the world. I’m overwhelmed by the way people are responding.” His critics were largely unimpressed with the apology.

On a website linked from a protected Twitter account run by @RSDJulien, “an executive coach for Real Social Dynamics, the international leader in dating advice”, Blanc promises men who take his courses that he will teach them how to “Make Girls BEG To Sleep With You After SHORT-CIRCUITING Their Emotional And Logical Mind” and develop “panty-dropping masculinity with this rock-solid structure to self-generate the powerful emotions girls crave”.

His courses cost from £123 ($197) for 23 instructional videos to £312 ($497) for the videos plus a ticket to a live event and access to Blanc’s Facebook page.

VAWG (violence against women and girls) campaigners have warned that areas of Blanc’s sales pitch veer into rape promotion, as he promises to teach men how to persuade women to have sex with them who are reluctant. He says his tips for overcoming “last-minute resistance (LMR) – making her feel 100% comfortable for sex” will enable men to do “crazy sexual things”, adding: “You’ll love this if you have any fetishes”. He also promises techniques on “how to pull a camera on her if you’re into that kind of thing”.

Video clips of Blanc on YouTube show him shoving women’s faces into his crotch and on one occasion assaulting a Japanese checkout worker – who appears to be deeply uncomfortable – by kissing her neck and ear. He is shown speaking to a room full of men who laugh at his anecdotes, at one point commenting about women in Japan: “If you’re a white male, you can do what you want. I’m just romping through the streets, just grabbing girls’ heads, just like, head, pfft on the dick.”