UK Student visa costs 2026: fee, IHS, funds and Graduate visa

What you pay and what you must show

There are two kinds of cost. When you apply, you pay the visa fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). Most applicants must also prove they have enough money for their course fees and living costs.

How the health surcharge works

The IHS is a healthcare charge you pay as part of your visa application. For students and their dependants it’s £776 per year, and how much you pay depends on how long your visa lasts:

• A visa of 6 months or less, applied for from outside the UK: no surcharge.
• More than 6 months but less than a year: you pay for a full year, £776.
• Longer visas: £776 for each full year, plus half a year (£388) for a leftover part-year of 6 months or less, or a full year if the leftover part is longer. For a 2-year visa, the surcharge is £1,552.

The exact amount you pay depends on the length of your visa, and gov.uk notes that a visa may last longer than your course of study.

Money for living costs

Unless an exemption applies, you must prove you have £1,529 a month for a course in London or £1,171 a month for a course elsewhere, for up to 9 months. London means the City of London and the 32 London boroughs. One exemption: if you’ve been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months, you don’t need to prove you have this money.

• You must have held the money for at least 28 days in a row.
• The end of that 28-day period must be within 31 days of the date you apply.
• You also need enough to pay for 1 academic year of your course (up to 9 months). Your CAS shows the amount.

English level and your CAS

For degree-level study you need English equivalent to level B2 on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), a step above the B1 level set for courses below degree level. Your university can assess your English itself, but it must still be equivalent to B2.

A CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) is a reference number your university sends you once it has offered you a place. You need an unconditional offer (one with no conditions left to meet) on a course with a licensed student sponsor. You must have your CAS before you apply, you enter its number on your application, and you must apply within 6 months of receiving it.

When to apply and how long it takes

• From outside the UK, the earliest you can apply is 6 months before your course starts.
• From outside the UK you’ll usually get a decision within 3 weeks. The clock starts once you’ve proved your identity and sent your documents through the UK Immigration: ID Check app, or attended your appointment at a visa application centre for your fingerprints and photo.
• You may be able to pay for a faster decision.
• If your course lasts more than 6 months, you can arrive up to 1 month before it starts, but never before the start date on your visa.

This guide covers degree students applying from outside the UK. Rules and amounts can change, so check gov.uk for your own situation before you apply or pay.

The Graduate visa after your degree

The Graduate visa lets you stay in the UK after successfully completing an eligible course, usually a UK bachelor’s, master’s, PhD or doctorate. You can apply if all of these are true:

• you’re in the UK on a Student visa (or the older Tier 4 (General) student visa), and you studied the course with it
• your university or college, which must be a licensed sponsor with a ‘track record of compliance’, has told the Home Office you’ve successfully completed the course
• you studied in the UK for at least 12 months, or for the whole course if it was shorter than 12 months

You apply online, from inside the UK, before your Student visa expires. You don’t have to wait until you’ve graduated or received a certificate. How long the visa lasts depends on when you apply:

• 2 years if you apply on or before Thursday 31 December 2026
• 18 months if you apply on or after Friday 1 January 2027
• 3 years if you have a PhD or other doctoral qualification

If you start a degree in 2027, you’ll finish in 2028 or later. Under the rule gov.uk published (checked 26 October 2026), that means 18 months after a bachelor’s or master’s, or 3 years after a PhD.

The visa starts on the day it’s approved and can’t be extended, though you may be able to switch to another visa, such as a Skilled Worker visa. It costs £937, plus the health surcharge, usually £1,035 for each year you’ll be in the UK; you’re told the exact amount when you apply. You’ll usually get a decision within 8 weeks. You can stay in the UK while you wait, but you mustn’t travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get it.

On a Graduate visa you can work in most jobs, look for work, be self-employed, do unpaid voluntary work (for example for a registered charity) and travel abroad and come back. You can’t claim most benefits (public funds) or the State Pension, or work as a professional sportsperson. A partner can stay as your dependant only if they were already your dependant on your Student visa; a child usually needs to have been one too, or to have been born in the UK during your visa.