Verified against official sources — 30 Oct 2026
UK Student Visa Guide: Eligibility, Money, Fees and How to Apply
NEW Published 30 October 2026
The complete Student visa route in one guide — the offer and CAS, the money you must show, the £558 fee and healthcare surcharge, applying, and what happens after the decision.
You can apply for a Student visa if you are 16 or over and you have been offered a place on a course by a licensed student sponsor, you have enough money to support yourself and pay for your course, and you can speak, read, write and understand English. The application fee is £558, and you also pay the immigration health surcharge — £776 per year for students. From outside the UK you can apply up to 6 months before your course starts, and you will usually get a decision within 3 weeks. You prove your money with course fees for one academic year (shown on your CAS) plus £1,529 a month for courses in London or £1,171 a month outside London, for up to 9 months, held for at least 28 days in a row.
SECTION 01Who the Student Visa Is For
GOV.UK's Student visa overview states the route's basic shape in one passage. You can apply if you are 16 or over and you:
- have been offered a place on a course by a licensed student sponsor
- have enough money to support yourself and pay for your course — the amount varies depending on your circumstances
- can speak, read, write and understand English
- have consent from your parents if you are 16 or 17 — you will need evidence of this when you apply
If you are 16 or 17, GOV.UK adds that you may be eligible for a Child Student visa instead. This cell covers the Student visa for applicants aged 16 and over; the Child Student route has its own GOV.UK guidance, linked in the official references.
The courses themselves are defined by level. GOV.UK's overview lists, among others: a full-time course leading to a qualification at degree level or above (RQF level 6, 7 or 8); a full-time below-degree course (RQF level 3, 4 or 5) with at least 15 hours a week of organised daytime study; a part-time course above degree level (RQF level 7 or above); and an English language course at CEFR level B2 or above. The qualification levels differ in Scotland. Your sponsor confirms which course you have been offered — through the CAS, covered in Section 03.
SECTION 02The Money: Course Fees Plus Living Costs
The financial requirement has two parts, and GOV.UK states both. First, the course fee: you need enough money to pay for your course for one academic year (up to 9 months), and the amount you need to pay will be on your CAS. Second, money to support yourself:
- £1,529 per month (for up to 9 months) for courses in London
- £1,171 per month (for up to 9 months) for courses outside London
London means the City of London and the 32 London boroughs. If you are boarding at a residential independent school, you pay boarding fees instead, and that amount is also on your CAS.
The money must be held for at least 28 days in a row, and the end date of the 28-day period must be within 31 days of the date you apply. GOV.UK gives the worked example: if you submit your application on 1 January, you would have to show the funds were in your bank account for at least the 28-day period ending on 1 December. If you have a student loan or financial sponsorship, you provide evidence of it from the loan or sponsorship company.
Two exemptions matter. You do not need to prove the money if you have been in the UK with a valid visa for at least 12 months on the date of your application, or if you are applying as a student union sabbatical officer. Separately, nationals of the countries GOV.UK lists under the "differential evidence requirement" do not have to provide financial evidence with the application — though UKVI can still ask for it before a decision. India is not on that list, so applicants from India should expect to provide the evidence with their application. The full breakdown, including dependants' amounts, is in our financial requirement guide.
SECTION 03The CAS: Your Sponsor's Confirmation
To prove your offer, your education provider sends you a reference number called a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) once they have offered you a place on the course. GOV.UK is direct about the sequence: you need a CAS before you can apply for your visa, you enter the reference number on your application, and you must apply for your visa within 6 months of receiving your CAS.
Two consequences follow. First, there is no applying "in advance" of an offer — the CAS is the trigger for the whole process. Second, a CAS is issued for one course at one sponsor; it is not transferable between universities. Our dedicated guide explains how the CAS works and what to check on it.
SECTION 04Proving Your English
You will usually need to prove your knowledge of English when you apply. The level depends on the course: CEFR level B2 if you are studying at degree level or above, and CEFR level B1 below degree level. You can prove it through a UK school qualification, a UK degree, a degree taught in English (with an Ecctis assessment if it was awarded outside the UK), or a Secure English Language Test (SELT) from an approved provider. If you are studying at degree level or above with a Higher Education Provider, the provider can assess your English itself, and may ask you to take a different test — which must still be equivalent to CEFR level B2.
Some applicants do not need to prove English at all — nationals of the majority-English-speaking countries GOV.UK lists, Canadian nationals, and a few other cases. India is not on that exemption list. The full rules are in our English language requirement guide.
SECTION 05The Fees: £558 Plus the Healthcare Surcharge
GOV.UK states the application fee plainly: it costs £558 to apply for a Student visa from outside the UK, and £558 to extend or switch from inside the UK. You must pay the visa fee for each person who joins you — every dependant pays their own £558.
On top of the fee, you pay the immigration health surcharge (IHS) as part of your application. GOV.UK's healthcare surcharge page sets the student rate at £776 per year for students and their dependants — £1,552 for a 2-year visa, in its own example. The amount follows the length of the visa granted, not just the course: a visa of more than 6 months but less than a year is charged as a full year, and part-year rules apply at the edges. If your application is refused, GOV.UK states you will get a full IHS refund automatically. The step-by-step of paying both charges sits inside our application guide.
SECTION 06Applying: Online, Then Identity and Biometrics
You must apply online for a Student visa. Timing first: from outside the UK, the earliest you can apply is 6 months before your course starts; from inside the UK, 3 months before, and you must apply before your current visa expires — with a new course beginning within 28 days of that expiry.
As part of the application you prove your identity, in one of two ways GOV.UK describes: using the "UK Immigration: ID Check" app to scan your identity document (creating or signing into your UKVI account), or having your fingerprints and photo taken at a visa application centre. Which route applies depends on where you are from and what type of passport you have, and you are told what to do when you apply. If you need an appointment, you take your passport with you and can collect it the same day — but you may have to travel to your nearest centre, which could be in another country.
Decisions: you will usually get a decision within 3 weeks if you are outside the UK, and within 8 weeks if you are inside. You may be able to pay to get a faster decision — you will be told if you can when you apply. GOV.UK also warns that you will be contacted if your application is complex and will take longer, for example because your supporting documents need to be verified, or you need to attend an interview.
SECTION 07How Long You Can Stay, and When You Can Travel
How long you can stay depends on the length of your course and what study you have already completed in the UK. GOV.UK's overview gives the headline rules: if you are 18 or over and your course is at degree level, you can usually stay for up to 5 years; if it is below degree level, you can usually stay for up to 2 years.
Travel timing is exact. You can arrive before your course starts — up to 1 week before if your course lasts 6 months or less, and up to 1 month before if it lasts more than 6 months. And one rule overrides all planning: you must not travel to the UK before the start date given on your visa, no matter when your course starts. Our arrival guide covers the eVisa and the first weeks in the same detail.
SECTION 08What You Can and Cannot Do
GOV.UK lists what a Student visa allows and forbids. You can study on a further or higher education course, and work as a student union sabbatical officer. You may be able to work — how much depends on what you are studying and whether you are working in or out of term-time; your visa conditions, visible on your eVisa, are the authority for your own case. You cannot claim public funds (benefits) and pensions, work in certain jobs — for example as a professional sportsperson or sports coach — or be self-employed. If your application is successful, you will be told what you can and cannot do on your visa.
One honest limit: GOV.UK's Student visa pages describe the work permission in the conditional terms above and do not print a single hours figure that applies to everyone. Any site that quotes one universal number for all students is going beyond what these official pages state — check your own conditions.
SECTION 09Bringing Your Partner and Children
Dependants are now the exception, not the rule, on this route. GOV.UK states that your partner and children may be able to apply only if you are one of the following: a government-sponsored student starting a course that lasts longer than 6 months, or a full-time student on a postgraduate level course (RQF level 7 or above) lasting 9 months or longer. And if that postgraduate course starts on or after 1 January 2024, it must be either a PhD or other doctorate (RQF level 8), or a research-based higher degree.
In plain terms: undergraduate students, and students on taught master's courses that started after the 2024 change, cannot bring dependants on this route. Each dependant also needs their own money — £845 a month in London or £680 a month outside London, for up to 9 months — and pays their own £558 fee and healthcare surcharge. Our dependants guide works through the full rules, including children born in the UK.
SECTION 10After Your Course: the Graduate Visa
When you successfully complete your course, you may be able to switch to a Graduate visa to stay and work, or look for work. GOV.UK states the durations with a change built in: a Graduate visa lasts 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026, and 18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027; a PhD or other doctoral qualification gives 3 years. You must be in the UK when you apply, on a Student visa, and your provider must have told the Home Office you have successfully completed your course. The Graduate visa cannot be extended. Full detail is in our Graduate visa guide.
FAQFrequently Asked Questions
How much is the UK Student visa fee?
£558, whether you apply from outside the UK or extend or switch from inside. Every dependant pays their own £558, and everyone also pays the immigration health surcharge — £776 per year at the student rate.
How much money do I need to show?
Your course fee for one academic year (the amount is on your CAS) plus living costs of £1,529 a month in London or £1,171 a month outside London, for up to 9 months. The money must have been held for at least 28 days in a row, ending within 31 days of your application date.
When should I apply?
From outside the UK, up to 6 months before your course starts; from inside, up to 3 months before — and always within 6 months of receiving your CAS. Decisions usually take 3 weeks from outside the UK and 8 weeks from inside.
Can I bring my spouse on a taught master's course?
For courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, GOV.UK limits dependants to students on a PhD or other doctorate, a research-based higher degree, or government-sponsored students on courses over 6 months. A taught master's does not qualify under these rules.
Do Indian applicants have to submit bank statements with the application?
Yes, in practice. GOV.UK's "differential evidence requirement" list — whose nationals need not provide financial evidence up front — does not include India. UKVI can ask listed nationals for the evidence later, but Indian applicants should file it with the application.
Will I get a visa sticker or a BRP?
Successful applicants now get an eVisa — a digital record of your identity and immigration status — accessed through a UKVI account. GOV.UK confirms eVisas have replaced physical immigration documents.
Official references and verification status
These official references were accessed and checked on 30 October 2026, and this guide's claims were verified against them (see the accompanying sources file). Three honest limits apply. First, GOV.UK's Student visa pages state the work permission conditionally and print no single hours figure for all students, so this guide prints none. Second, this guide states no priority-service prices, because GOV.UK's Student pages say only that a faster decision may be payable and that you are told when you apply. Third, sponsor-licence status, course eligibility in individual cases, and the detailed finance guidance sit behind the linked official pages and your own CAS — check them for your circumstances.
- GOV.UK — Student visa (overview and full guide)
- GOV.UK — Student visa: Your partner and children
- GOV.UK — Pay for UK healthcare as part of your immigration application
- GOV.UK — Graduate visa
- GOV.UK — eVisas: access and use your online immigration status
General educational information, not individualized legal or immigration advice. Follow the official GOV.UK instructions for your own situation, and consult a qualified UK immigration adviser regulated in the UK for advice about an individual case.
General information only. This guide is based on official sources publicly available and checked on the date shown on this page. Visa rules change, and consular and USCIS officers decide every case on its own facts — nothing here is a confirmation or a guarantee for your individual case, and this is not legal advice. Always confirm the current requirement on the official page linked in this guide before you act, and consider a qualified immigration attorney for your specific situation.