How Much Does a UK Student Visa Cost in 2026? Full Breakdown

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

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

1. TB test (£80 to £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.
2. ATAS clearance (£0 but ~4 weeks to obtain), required for some STEM postgrad courses. Delays people every year.
3. English test (£175 to £230), IELTS/UKVI, PTE Academic or equivalent. Some universities accept their own in-house test, which is cheaper.
4. Translations (£30 to £150 per document), all non-English documents must be certified translations.
5. Biometrics appointment fee (£0 to £150), paid to the VFS or TLS centre; some locations add a premium for weekend slots.
6. CAS issue fee, most universities include this, but a few charge £50 to £100.
7. Airport pickup, initial accommodation deposit, typically £500 to £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:

Monthly living costs in London on top of this: £1,400 to £1,800 covering rent (£900 to £1,300), food (£200 to £300), transport (£170 Zone 1 to 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 to 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.

How to fund UK studies, what actually works

University scholarships are the most underused route. Most Russell Group universities ring-fence £2m, £8m annually for international merit awards. Apply in December or January for a September start, late applications go to the waitlist. Tie your personal statement to the scholarship criteria, not your course.

Government scholarships worth knowing:

• Chevening, fully funded master's for future leaders. £18,000 fees + £13,000 living + flights. Apply September, November for the following academic year.
• Commonwealth Scholarships, for students from lower-middle income Commonwealth countries. Covers tuition, flights, living allowance.
• Great Scholarships, UK government + universities, discipline-specific, smaller awards (£10,000 to £15,000 typical).
• GREAT Britain campaign bursaries, available for some South and Southeast Asian students.

Your employer, if you're employed and studying part-time, UK employers with more than 50 staff have a legal Learning & Development obligation. Tuition contribution up to £7,000/year is tax-free. Ask before paying out of pocket.

Education loans from your home country, compare rates carefully. Indian education loans via SBI or Axis Bank can fund the full course at 9 to 11%, cheaper than UK personal loans. Some UK universities accept these directly as maintenance evidence.

What happens if your savings fall short at application

The Home Office does not accept bank statements showing funds were deposited and then withdrawn. If your balance drops below the required maintenance figure at any point in the 28-day window, the account fails the test, even by £1.

If you're short, options are:

1. Parent or guardian sponsor, your parent's account can be used if they sign a declaration they will fund you. Their statement must be bank-certified and translated if not in English.
2. University sponsorship letter, if your university offers a fee waiver or bursary reducing the amount you owe, this reduces the maintenance calculation accordingly. Get it in writing on university letterhead.
3. Wait 28 days, if funds have just arrived from selling property or a gift, you must wait a full 28 days from the date of receipt before applying.

Applying with insufficient evidence and hoping for the best is the single most common reason for Student visa refusal. The Home Office will not tell you to reapply with better documents. They will simply refuse.

Frequently asked questions

Planning your finances for UK study, a year-by-year breakdown

Year one is always the most expensive because you pay visa fees, IHS, and setup costs (flights, deposits, bedding, equipment) all at once. Here is how to think about the money across a typical 3-year undergraduate or 1-year master's.

Three-year undergraduate (STEM, Russell Group, London):

Year 1 upfront costs:

• Visa application: £524
• IHS (3 × £776): £2,328
• Tuition year 1: £28,000
• Flight, deposit, setup: £2,500
• TB test: £85
• English test: £230
• Total upfront: ~£33,667

Years 2 and 3:

• Tuition × 2: £56,000
• Living (London, £1,600/month × 24 months): £38,400
• Total years 2 to 3: ~£94,400

Grand total over 3 years: roughly £128,000. Most of this is tuition; the visa costs (£2,852 including IHS) are less than 3% of the total.

One-year master's (non-London):

Year 1 upfront:

• Visa: £524
• IHS (2 × £776): £1,552
• Tuition: £22,000
• Flight, deposit, setup: £2,000
• Tests: £315
• Total: ~£26,391

Living costs (£1,136/month × 12): £13,632

Total: ~£40,000. Cheaper than a London year because of lower living costs.

The IHS, why the student rate exists and how to claim a refund

Students pay £776/year instead of the standard £1,035/year because the government made a policy concession in 2014 when the IHS was introduced, recognising that students on fixed scholarships and lower incomes could not afford the full rate.

Partial refund eligibility: If your course ends early (you graduate in 3 years instead of 4, for example) and you leave the UK voluntarily, you can claim a pro-rata refund on the unused IHS. The calculation:

• Identify how many complete unused months remain on your visa
• Calculate (unused complete months ÷ total IHS-covered months) × amount paid
• Apply within 3 months of departing the UK via the UKVI IHS refund portal

Common mistake: students who switch from Student to Skilled Worker mid-visa do not get an IHS refund for the remaining Student visa period, the Skilled Worker IHS is calculated and paid separately.

Part-time work on a Student visa, maximising income legally

Student visa holders can work up to 20 hours per week during term time and unlimited hours during official vacations. Most UK universities define term time as 30 to 34 weeks per year, leaving 18 to 22 weeks of full-time work eligibility.

In 2026 the National Living Wage is £12.21/hour for workers aged 21+. At 20 hours/week for 30 term weeks, this generates roughly:

• 20 × 30 × £12.21 = £7,326 gross (before tax)
• After student-level tax (assuming personal allowance): ~£6,500 net

During 20 vacation weeks at, say, 35 hours:

• 35 × 20 × £12.21 = £8,547 gross
• Net: ~£7,200

Annual maximum from minimum-wage part-time work: approximately £13,700 net. This covers living costs in most cities outside London; it will not touch tuition.

Higher-skilled work (tech internship, finance summer analyst) can pay £15 to £25/hour, generating £18,000 to £30,000 net per year in the vacation-heavy months. Many students who plan internships in years 2 to 3 significantly reduce the financial burden.

What students cannot do:

• Work more than 20 hours during term time, including for the same employer across multiple contracts
• Work as self-employed or sole trader
• Work for a business they own (the self-employment prohibition is absolute)
• Engage in business activity, even unpaid

Scholarship calendar, when to apply for each major award

The biggest mistake students make with scholarships is applying too late. UK university awards operate on academic year timelines that require planning 12 to 18 months in advance.

For university-specific awards, the pattern is almost universal: submit your university application in October, December, and scholarship applications open in January for students who have already received conditional offers. Students who apply in January or February are in the best position.

Visa refusal risks specific to Student applications

The Student visa has a very high grant rate when documents are correct, typically 97%+ for applicants from most countries. But refusals do happen and the common causes are:

Insufficient maintenance evidence: The most common reason. A balance that dips even £1 below the required maintenance figure at any point in the 28-day window fails the test. Set up an alert on your bank account for the window period.

CAS issued but expired: A CAS expires 6 months after issuance. If your university issued a CAS in October but you applied in May, you need a new CAS. Most universities will reissue but may charge an administrative fee.

Course start date inconsistency: The date you list as your intended arrival must be consistent with the CAS. A CAS listing a course starting September 2026 with an arrival date of August 2025 in your application will trigger a refusal or at minimum a delay.

ATAS not yet obtained: For postgraduate students on certain STEM subjects, Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) clearance is mandatory. It is free but takes 4 to 6 weeks. Apply for ATAS the moment you receive your CAS. Do not submit the visa application without ATAS if it's required for your course.

English test at the wrong level: Most universities accept IELTS Academic 6.0 overall. The Home Office requires B2 (equivalent to 5.5 in IELTS Academic) for the visa. If your score is 5.5 overall but with a component below 5.5, you may meet visa requirements but not university requirements. Check both independently.

What changes at extension or if you switch courses

If you change your course during study, different institution, different level of study, significantly different subject, you may need to apply for a new Student visa rather than simply notifying UKVI.

Scenarios requiring a new visa application:

• Switching from one UK university to another
• Changing from a bachelor's to a master's mid-stream
• Starting a significantly different course after completing your first one

Scenarios not requiring a new application (notification to UKVI may still be required):

• Minor module changes within the same degree
• Deferring a year with the same CAS

The safest approach is to check with your university's international office before making any change. They have compliance obligations to report changes to UKVI and will tell you if a new application is needed.

Student visa for postgraduate researchers, specific rules

Postgraduate researchers (PhD students) on Student visas have some differences from taught course students:

Work hours: PhD students at universities with higher education status can work unlimited hours during research completion periods if they are in the writing-up stage and no longer attending formal supervision sessions. Most PhD supervisors can confirm this in writing. During active research periods, the 20-hour limit during term time applies.

ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme): Many advanced STEM research topics require ATAS clearance before the Student visa can be issued or extended. ATAS is free but takes 4 to 6 weeks. Apply as soon as you know your research area. Check the gov.uk ATAS subject list, it covers advanced computing, nuclear technology, materials science, aerospace, and certain chemistry fields.

Graduate visa eligibility: PhD completers get a 3-year Graduate visa (vs 18 months for bachelor's/master's). This is the most valuable Graduate visa duration and is worth planning for, if you're a master's student considering PhD study in the UK, the Graduate visa extension is one of many reasons PhD is worth pursuing.

Extension for thesis submission: If you're completing your thesis and need extra time beyond your current visa, you can apply for a Student visa extension. Your supervisor must confirm continued registration. This is usually granted for 6 to 12 months. The university must issue a new CAS for the extension period.

Common maintenance fund mistakes

The maintenance requirement is one of the most common refusal grounds. Mistakes to avoid:

• Balance dips at any point in the 28-day window. Even £1 below the required amount for one day fails the test. Set up balance alerts.
• Using a joint account where the other account holder is not your sponsor. The other holder's proportion of the account may be deducted. Use your own account wherever possible.
• Cryptocurrency or investment account balances. These do not count, only traditional bank accounts (current, savings, fixed-term deposit accessible within the window).
• Funds held in overseas banks not in English. Foreign bank statements must be translated into English, certified, and confirmed as accurate by the translation provider.
• Employer letter not covering the correct period. The employer letter for maintenance (if not using bank statement evidence) must confirm the maintained status as of the application date.