The UK has raised the financial requirement for international students applying for a Student visa, meaning applicants will now need to show more money for living costs.
If you’ve been building a UK study plan around last year’s numbers, it’s time to update your spreadsheet. The UK government confirmed on September 3, 2026, in a statement laid before Parliament, that it’s raising the minimum bank balance international students need to show for a Student visa, and this is the second increase in just over a year.
Here’s everything you actually need to know, broken down properly.
Starting November 30, 2026, anyone applying for a UK Student visa will need to show more money in their account than they did before. If you’re studying in London, the monthly requirement goes from £1,529 to £1,570. If you’re studying outside London, it moves from £1,171 to £1,203.
Multiply that out over the standard nine month maximum and here’s what it looks like in real terms:
What changed and when it applies
- Studying in London: £13,761 goes up to £14,130, an increase of £369
Studying Outside London: £10,539 goes up to £10,827, an increase of £288
The Home Office says this isn’t random. The maintenance figure is tied to the maintenance loans given to home (UK) students, and that loan amount gets reviewed every single year by the Department for Education. So this increase is basically the government syncing international student requirements with what British students are getting for the 2026 to 2027 academic year. And because this review happens annually now, don’t be surprised if there’s another bump around the same time next year. The last increase landed in November 2025, so this is very much becoming a yearly thing rather than a one off adjustment.
Worth noting too, this is on top of visa fee increases that already landed earlier in 2026. The Student visa application fee went from £524 to £558 in April, and the Graduate Route (post study work) visa fee rose from £880 to £937 in the same window. So the total cost of getting into and staying in the UK has been climbing on more than one front this year.
Who this affects
This applies to anyone applying for a UK Student visa from outside the country from November 30, 2026 onward, regardless of nationality. But the impact isn’t evenly spread. Nigeria currently ranks third among countries sending students to the UK on Sponsored Study visas, so Nigerian applicants, along with students from Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Rwanda, Egypt, Morocco, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Cameroon, are directly in the path of this change.
If you’re planning to bring dependants, and it’s worth remembering that only PhD and doctorate students, research based master’s students, and government sponsored students are currently allowed to bring family members at all (taught master’s students have not been able to since January 2024), the current dependant maintenance figures are £845 a month in London and £680 a month outside London, per dependant, also capped at nine months. As of now, official updated dependant figures for the November 30 change haven’t been published yet, so if you’re bringing a partner or child, budget with a buffer until the Home Office confirms the exact new numbers.
Regionally, the split really only comes down to London versus everywhere else. Your specific school or city outside London doesn’t change the requirement, whether you’re in Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow or anywhere else that isn’t one of the 32 London boroughs, the “outside London” rate applies the same way.
Budgeting checklist: what you actually need to add up
A lot of students only budget for the maintenance figure and get blindsided by everything else stacked on top of it. Here’s the fuller picture:
Tuition: Whatever’s left unpaid on your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) after any deposit gets added directly to your required total. If your course costs £18,000 and you’ve paid a £4,000 deposit, that remaining £14,000 sits on top of your maintenance figure, not instead of it.
Rent and living costs: This is what the maintenance figure is meant to cover, but treat it as a floor, not a comfortable target. £1,570 a month in London is workable but tight once you factor in actual London rent, transport and food costs. Build in extra if you can.
Health: The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is £776 per year of your course, paid upfront when you apply, not monthly. A two year master’s means £1,552 due at application time, separate from your maintenance funds.
Travel: Flights, initial settling in costs, winter clothing if you’re coming from a warmer climate, these add up fast in your first few weeks and rarely get factored into the “official” numbers.
Emergency buffer: Immigration caseworkers check your lowest daily balance across the required holding period, not just your final balance. A 10 to 15 percent buffer above the minimum protects you from an unexpected transaction accidentally dropping you below the threshold and jeopardizing your application.
Practical tips for documentation, timelines and avoiding delays
Get the timing of your funds right. Most current guidance still points to a 28 day rule, meaning your required balance needs to sit in your account, without dropping below the minimum on any single day, for 28 consecutive days before you apply. There’s been some chatter about this window potentially shortening to 14 days as part of broader visa reforms this year, but the guidance on this has been inconsistent across sources. The safest move is to plan around the full 28 days and double check gov.uk directly before you submit, since getting this wrong is one of the most common reasons applications get refused.
Make sure your bank statement checks every box
Your name has to match your passport exactly, the account and bank details need to be clearly visible, and the balance can’t dip below the required amount on any date within that window, even for a few hours between transactions.
Apply with room to spare
The end of your 28 day holding period has to fall within 31 days of when you actually submit your application. Cutting this close is how avoidable refusals happen. Start gathering and holding your funds at least six weeks before you plan to apply, not two.
Look at alternative funding routes if the number feels out of reach
A university scholarship covering tuition doesn’t automatically cover this maintenance requirement, they’re assessed separately by UKVI. If you’ve been offered a scholarship, check specifically whether it includes a living costs component or documentation that can be used to offset your maintenance figure. Regulated education loans from approved financial institutions are also accepted as proof of funds, and government sponsored students are exempt from parts of the maintenance rule entirely, so if you’re applying through a scholarship body or sponsorship scheme, confirm your exemption status early rather than assuming it applies.
Don’t wait until the scholarship deadline to think about the visa
This is the mistake that catches a lot of students out. You can win a fully funded offer and still hit a wall at the visa stage because nobody budgeted for the maintenance funds separately. Treat the visa financial requirement as its own deadline, not something you’ll sort out after the acceptance letter arrives.
The number keeps climbing, but it’s not unmanageable if you plan around it early rather than scrambling in the final weeks before your course starts.
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