What a UK Student visa costs, course by course
For a one-year master's, the Home Office takes £1,722: £558 of fee and £1,164 of surcharge. The money you must show comes on top.
Student visa fee and surcharge
Total to pay when you apply
£1,722
Student · Home Office fees of 8 October 2026
| Person | Fee | Surcharge |
|---|---|---|
| Main applicant | £558 | £1,164 |
| Application fees | £558 |
| Health surcharge (1 years 4 months) | £1,164 |
| Total | £1,722 |
Students and their dependants pay the reduced surcharge.
Calculated in your browser: nothing you type is sent anywhere. Not legal advice; not affiliated with the Home Office.
Published by Radif Partners · How we calculate · Home Office fees of 8 October 2026, rules checked 13 October 2026
Two kinds of money are involved in a Student visa, and only one of them is spent. What you pay the Home Office is the visa fee of £558, the same from abroad or in the UK, and the immigration health surcharge at the student rate of £776 for each year of the visa, half a year for a remainder of six months or less. A visa runs longer than the course itself, so a one-year master's usually means a visa of around 16 months and a surcharge of £1,164. What you must show, but keep, is the unpaid first-year tuition plus living costs for up to nine months, £1,171 a month outside London or £1,529 in London, and £1,203 or £1,570 for applications from 30 November 2026. The calculator above prices the visa for any length and family; the money test is on the Student visa page.
Typical totals by type of course
| Course | Fee | Surcharge | Paid to the Home Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-sessional or short course, 6 months | £558 | £0 | £558 |
| One-year master’s (visa about 16 months) | £558 | £1,164 | £1,722 |
| Two-year master’s or foundation (about 28 months) | £558 | £1,940 | £2,498 |
| Three-year bachelor’s (about 40 months) | £558 | £2,716 | £3,274 |
| Four-year PhD (about 52 months) | £558 | £3,492 | £4,050 |
The surcharge rises in half-year steps, so the visa length matters more than the course: a course that ends in September with a visa running into the following January costs half a year more than one whose visa stops in December. You cannot choose the end date, which the Home Office sets from the course dates, but you can check the surcharge before paying: it is shown when you request the reference number.
Paid once, shown once
Students often add the money to show to the money to pay, and overestimate the cost by thousands. The fee and the surcharge are spent the day you apply; the tuition and living-cost figures are a balance to prove, which then pays your rent and your fees as normal. If your university has already received part of the tuition, the CAS records it and the amount to show falls by the same sum, so paying a deposit early can make the bank test easier, never the Home Office bill smaller.
A family on a PhD
Partners and children may come only with a government-sponsored student or a research postgraduate (a PhD, another doctorate or a research master's) on a course of nine months or more. Each pays the £558 fee and the student surcharge for the same length. A PhD student with a partner and one child on a visa of about 52 months pays £12,150, of which £10,476 is surcharge, and must also show £680 a month for each dependant outside London (£845 in London), for up to nine months.
Costs that are easy to forget
- The English test, if your university asks for one, booked with an approved provider.
- Tuberculosis test results, if you live in one of the countries where the test is required.
- An ATAS certificate, if your course and nationality require one: apply early, as it must be valid when you apply for the visa.
- Priority or super priority service, where the visa centre offers them, at £500 or £1,000.
- At the end of the course, the Graduate visa: £937 and the full-rate surcharge of £1,035 a year.
If the visa is refused, the surcharge is refunded in full and the fee is not. Students from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein who hold a European health insurance card and do not work can claim the surcharge back. The surcharge page explains both refunds.