Student visa: how much money you need to show and pay
You must show the first year of course fees plus living costs for up to 9 months: £1,529 a month in London, £1,171 elsewhere, rising on 30 November 2026.
Student visa money and fees
Money to show in your account
£25,539
| Course fees still to pay (first year) | £15,000 |
| Living costs: 9 × £1,171 | £10,539 |
| Visa fees (1 person) | £558 |
| Health surcharge, 16 months | £1,164 |
| Paid to the Home Office | £1,722 |
Rates until 29 November 2026; from 30 November 2026 they rise (HC 584). The money must be held for 28 days in a row, ending within 31 days of the application. Applied on 13 October 2026.
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
A Student visa needs an unconditional offer from a licensed student sponsor, confirmed by a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), English at the level the course requires, and money: the course fees for the first academic year still unpaid, shown on the CAS, plus living costs of £1,529 a month in London or £1,171 outside it, for up to 9 months. For applications made from 30 November 2026, the Statement of Changes HC 584 raises those figures to £1,570 and £1,203. The money must sit in the account for 28 days in a row, ending no more than 31 days before you apply, unless you have already lived in the UK with a visa for 12 months. On top of that you pay the visa fee of £558 and the health surcharge at the student rate of £776 a year: £1,722 for a typical 16-month master's visa. The calculator above works out both sums for your course.
The money test in practice
Take a one-year master's outside London with £18,000 of fees still to pay. Applying before 30 November 2026, the student must show £28,539: the fees plus 9 months at £1,171. The same application made on or after that date needs £28,827. Fees you have already paid are taken off the amount shown on the CAS, and a deposit paid for your accommodation in the UK can reduce the living costs you must show, up to a cap the Home Office raises with the maintenance figures (the accommodation offset). "London" means the City of London and the 32 London boroughs; a campus of a London university outside them counts as outside London.
If a student loan or an official financial sponsor pays, you send their letter instead of statements for that part. Nationals of the countries on the "differential evidence" list (from Australia and the United States to Malaysia, Thailand and the EU states) do not have to send the bank evidence with the application, but must hold the money and can be asked for it before the decision.
Who can bring a family
Only two groups can bring a partner or children: government-sponsored students on a course of more than six months, and full-time postgraduate students on a course of 9 months or more which, for courses starting since 1 January 2024, must be a PhD or another doctorate or a research-based higher degree. A taught master's no longer qualifies. Each dependant pays the same £558 fee and student surcharge, and must show £845 a month in London or £680 elsewhere, for up to 9 months.
Fees and surcharge for a PhD student with a partner
Total to pay when you apply
£6,548
Student · Home Office fees of 8 October 2026
| Person | Fee | Surcharge |
|---|---|---|
| Main applicant | £558 | £2,716 |
| Partner | £558 | £2,716 |
| Application fees | £1,116 |
| Health surcharge (3 years 4 months) | £5,432 |
| Total | £6,548 |
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.
Timing and what comes after
From abroad you can apply up to 6 months before the course and must do so within 6 months of receiving the CAS; from inside the UK, up to 3 months before, with the new course starting within 28 days of the old visa's end. Decisions usually take 3 weeks from abroad and 8 in the UK. You may arrive up to a month before a course of more than six months, never before the start date of the visa.
After a degree, the Graduate visa lets you stay without a sponsor: 2 years if you apply by 31 December 2026, 18 months from 1 January 2027, 3 years after a PhD. A Skilled Worker job can follow at the new entrant rate, as the switching guide shows.