How Much Does a UK Student Visa Cost in 2026? Full Breakdown
Complete 2026 cost of studying in the UK on a Student visa: Home Office fee £524, IHS £776/year, tuition, maintenance funds and hidden costs. With worked examples.
The UK Student visa headline fee is £524 — but that's a tiny fraction of what you'll actually pay to study in the UK in 2026. When you add the Immigration Health Surcharge, required maintenance funds and tuition, the real number is often £35,000 to £55,000 for a single year. This guide breaks down every cost, including the ones most prospectuses don't mention.
The headline Home Office fees
| Fee | Applying outside UK | Applying inside UK |
|---|---|---|
| Student visa application | £524 | £524 |
| Priority service (optional) | £500 | £500 |
| Super priority (optional) | £1,000 | £1,000 |
| Dependant (per person) | £524 | £524 |
The priority services are optional but recommended if your course starts within 8 weeks. Standard processing is 3 weeks outside the UK, 8 weeks inside.
The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) — £776/year
All Student visa applicants pay IHS upfront for the full duration of their visa. For students, the discounted rate is £776 per year (adults on the main Skilled Worker rate pay £1,035).
Key rules:
- Paid upfront as a lump sum. If your visa is for 3 years and 4 months, you pay £776 × 4 = £3,104 (any partial year counts as a full year for IHS).
- Covers NHS access for the full visa duration, including GP visits, A&E, most hospital care.
- Prescriptions, dental, optical and some maternity services are not covered — you still pay those.
- Dependants on a Student visa also pay £776/year each.
For a typical 3-year undergraduate degree, IHS alone is around £3,104.
Tuition fees — the biggest cost by far
International student tuition in 2026:
- Undergraduate (humanities) — £18,000 to £26,000/year
- Undergraduate (STEM) — £22,000 to £35,000/year
- Undergraduate (medicine, dentistry) — £35,000 to £65,000/year
- Master's (taught) — £20,000 to £32,000/year
- Master's (MBA) — £35,000 to £110,000 total
- PhD — £18,000 to £28,000/year
Russell Group universities sit at the top of each range. London institutions add roughly £2,000 to £5,000 per year over equivalent courses elsewhere.
The maintenance requirement — not a fee, but a lock
Your visa requires you to prove you have enough money to live on. You don't pay this to the Home Office, but the funds must sit in your account (or a parent's account with a sponsor letter) untouched for 28 consecutive days before you apply.
2026 maintenance requirements:
- Courses in London — £1,483/month, up to 9 months = £13,347
- Courses outside London — £1,136/month, up to 9 months = £10,224
Even for a 1-month course you must show the full 9-month equivalent. For a 12-month master's in London, you need to prove £13,347 in savings plus first-year tuition (minus any already paid).
Typical total proof required for a London master's student who has paid £5,000 toward tuition and has total course fees of £28,000: £28,000 − £5,000 + £13,347 = £36,347 in the bank for 28 days.
Hidden and commonly missed costs
- TB test (£80–£200) — required if you're applying from a listed country including India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, most of Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Must be done at an IOM-approved clinic.
- ATAS clearance (£0 but ~4 weeks to obtain) — required for some STEM postgrad courses. Delays people every year.
- English test (£175–£230) — IELTS/UKVI, PTE Academic or equivalent. Some universities accept their own in-house test, which is cheaper.
- Translations (£30–£150 per document) — all non-English documents must be certified translations.
- Biometrics appointment fee (£0 to £150) — paid to the VFS or TLS centre; some locations add a premium for weekend slots.
- CAS issue fee — most universities include this, but a few charge £50–£100.
- Airport pickup, initial accommodation deposit — typically £500–£1,500 before you've unpacked.
Worked example: 1-year master's in London
Sanjay, 24, applying from Chennai for an MSc Finance at a central London university:
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Tuition | £32,000 |
| Student visa fee | £524 |
| IHS (1 year + 4 months buffer) | £1,552 |
| TB test (Chennai) | £85 |
| IELTS UKVI | £230 |
| Biometrics (VFS Chennai premium) | £110 |
| Document translations | £180 |
| Flight London one-way | £520 |
| Week-one accommodation + deposit | £1,400 |
| Upfront total | £36,601 |
| Maintenance shown in bank (not paid to Home Office) | £13,347 |
Monthly living costs in London on top of this: £1,400–£1,800 covering rent (£900–£1,300), food (£200–£300), transport (£170 Zone 1–2 young person's Travelcard), phone (£15) and incidentals.
Ways to reduce the total
- Apply early — standard processing is free; priority (£500) is only needed if your CAS is within 6 weeks of course start.
- Choose a non-London university — the £347/month maintenance saving compounds.
- Scholarships — Chevening, Commonwealth, Great Scholarships, and university-specific awards for international students.
- In-country TB clinics — list on gov.uk; approved clinics charge less than premium private hospitals.
- Skip university accommodation year 2 — shared house rents in most UK cities are 30–40% cheaper.
What you can't reduce
- The Home Office fee is fixed at £524.
- IHS is mandatory — no health insurance substitute works.
- Maintenance is a proof requirement, not a spending requirement. You can use the same money for tuition after the 28-day window.
See our full UK Student visa guide for eligibility, documents and step-by-step application walkthrough, or try the cost calculator to model your specific situation.