UK Student Visa Fee and IHS Calculator (2026)
Short answer. A UK Student visa costs £558, plus a health surcharge of £776 for each year of the visa, not the course. A 12 month master’s gets a 17 month visa, so the surcharge is £1,164 and you pay £1,722 upfront. Living funds to show are separate: £1,171 a month, or £1,529 in London.
Uses the GOV.UK Student visa fee (£558), the healthcare surcharge rules (£776 a year for students and their dependants) and the leave periods and funds in Appendix Student of the Immigration Rules, checked in October 2026. Your visa can start later than a month before your course if it is granted late, which can shorten the surcharge period. The application itself shows the exact amount before you pay.
The surcharge is charged on your visa, not your course
The Immigration Health Surcharge pays for NHS access while you are in the UK, and GOV.UK is explicit that the amount depends on the length of your visa, which may be longer than your course. Appendix Student of the Immigration Rules sets how much longer. A Student visa granted from India usually starts a month before your course and runs on after it ends.
| Course length | Before the course | After the course |
|---|---|---|
| 12 months or longer | 1 month | 4 months |
| 6 to 12 months | 1 month | 2 months |
| Pre-sessional, under 6 months | 1 month | 1 month |
| Other courses under 6 months | 7 days | 7 days |
The surcharge is then worked out on that whole visa period: £776 for each full year, plus half a year (£388) if what is left over is 6 months or less, or another full year if it is more than 6 months. Applying from outside the UK for 6 months or less costs nothing.
| Course | Visa length | Surcharge | With £558 visa fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 month master’s | 17 months | £1,164 | £1,722 |
| 15 month master’s | 20 months | £1,552 | £2,110 |
| 2 year master’s | 29 months | £1,940 | £2,498 |
| 3 year bachelor’s | 41 months | £2,716 | £3,274 |
| 4 year PhD | 53 months | £3,492 | £4,050 |
Notice the 15 month master’s. Three extra months of course push the visa past 18 months, and the surcharge jumps by a full £388. If you are choosing between a 12 month course and one with a placement year or an extended dissertation, add that to the comparison.
The money you must show is separate
The visa fee and surcharge are what you pay. The financial requirement is what you must hold in your account for 28 days before applying, and it is far larger. Under Appendix Student, you need any tuition still owed for your first year plus living costs for each month of the course, up to 9 months. Part months round up.
| Who | London, per month | Outside London, per month | 9 months, outside London |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student | £1,529 | £1,171 | £10,539 |
| Each partner or child | £845 | £680 | £6,120 |
If you are funding this with an education loan, a loan letter from a regulated lender can count as evidence. For how the 28 day rule and loan letters work, see our UK student visa guide, and to check every country’s funds rule in one place, use the proof of funds calculator.
Bringing your family
Each dependant pays the same £558 visa fee and the same £776 a year surcharge as you, over the same visa length. But for courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, a partner or child can only join a student on a postgraduate course of 9 months or longer that the university confirms is a PhD, another doctorate or a research based higher degree. Students with a government scholarship on a full-time course of 6 months or longer are the other main exception. A taught master’s no longer qualifies, so the calculator leaves family out of the totals for those courses.
Faz's ruleBudget the surcharge on your visa dates, never on course years.
Most budgets you will find online put £776 against a one year master’s, because that is the yearly rate. The real bill is £1,164, and it is due in full with the application, along with the visa fee. On a loan, that is money you need before the first disbursement, so keep it in your own account. It is refunded if the visa is refused or you withdraw before a decision, but not if you leave the UK early or decide not to travel.
For the full picture of what a UK degree costs, including tuition and living costs by city, see our cost of studying in the UK guide. To plan for staying on after your degree, read about the Graduate Route, which falls from 2 years to 18 months for applications from 1 January 2027.
Questions people ask
How much is the IHS for a UK student visa in 2026?
£776 for each year of the visa for students and their dependants. Part years are charged at £388 if 6 months or less, or a full £776 if more than 6 months.
How much IHS do I pay for a one year master’s?
£1,164. A 12 month course gets a visa of about 17 months: one month before and four after. That is one year plus a part year of 6 months or less, so 1.5 years of surcharge.
What is the UK student visa fee from India?
£558 to apply from outside the UK, the same as extending or switching from inside the UK. Each dependant pays the same fee.
Is the IHS refunded if I leave the UK early?
No. GOV.UK refunds the surcharge if your visa is refused, if you withdraw the application before a decision, or if you paid too much, but not if you leave the UK before your visa ends, or do not travel after the visa is granted.
How much money do I need in my bank for a UK student visa?
Your unpaid first year tuition plus £1,171 a month outside London or £1,529 a month in London, for up to 9 months, held for 28 days. Outside London that is £10,539 in living costs alone.
Where these rules come from
- GOV.UK, Student visa: fees, timing and how long you can stay
- GOV.UK, pay for UK healthcare as part of your immigration application: how much you pay
- GOV.UK, healthcare surcharge refunds
- Immigration Rules, Appendix Student: leave periods, funds and dependants
- GOV.UK, Student visa: money you need
Checked in October 2026. Fees and the surcharge change by statutory instrument, usually in April; the amount shown in your application is what you pay.