Study in UK

The UK Graduate Visa lets international students stay and work in the UK after completing their studies for the following durations:

• 2 years – if you apply on or before 31 December 2026

• 18 months – if you apply on or after 1 January 2027

• 3 years – if you hold a PhD or doctoral qualification

Your visa starts from the date your application is approved, allowing you to work, explore opportunities, or plan your next visa route in the UK.

Are you planning to study in the UK? Understanding the UK visa fees and associated costs is crucial for international students. In this guide, we break down the estimated expenses for a UK student visa in 2025, including application fees, IHS fees, and additional services.

UK Visa Fees for International Students

1. Standard Visa Application Fees

• £490 (Valid until April 8, 2025)
• £524 (Effective from April 9, 2025)

The UK student visa application fee is subject to change, so it’s essential to stay updated with the latest fee structure before applying.

2. Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) Fees

International students must pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) to access healthcare services in the UK. The fees vary depending on the duration and type of study program:

For Master’s Students:

• £1164 (Up to 13 months)
• £1552 (Up to 19 months)
• £1940 (Up to 25 months)

For Bachelor’s Students:

• £2716 (For a 3-year program)
• £3492 (For a 4-year program)

3. Additional Services for Faster Processing

Students who wish to expedite their visa process can opt for additional services:

• Priority Visa: £500 (Faster processing)
• Super Priority Visa: £1000 (Fastest processing)

Payment Modes for UK Student Visa

Payments can be made using:

• Credit Cards / Debit Cards (Visa & Mastercard only) with international transaction support.

Why Choose the UK for Higher Education?

The UK is home to prestigious universities, offering world-class education and research opportunities. Studying in the UK enhances career prospects with globally recognized degrees and diverse job opportunities.

Apply for a UK Student Visa with Expert Guidance

At Impel Overseas Consultants, we provide expert visa assistance to ensure a smooth application process. Get personalized counseling, documentation support, and interview guidance.

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The university was voted as the number one UK university by StudentCrowd and also finished first for Careers Service and Wifi & Internet

The StudentCrowd University Awards are the only independent awards based entirely on verified student reviews. For the awards, StudentCrowd analysed a total of 24,041 university reviews to select the top 20 across 11 different categories.

The winners are selected based on their average review score over the 24-month period from June 2021 to May 2023. The average review scores are across university, course and accommodation review categories.

In addition to being named the best overall UK university, Greenwich also finished first for Careers Service and Wifi & Internet as well as finishing on the top five for several more categories:

• OneFile – The complete solution – advert
• 2nd Campus and Facilities
• 2nd Students’ Union
• 4th Personal Tutor
• 5th Clubs and Societies

One student who rated their experience at Greenwich highly said:
“This university provides an exceptional academic experience with knowledgeable professors and a diverse student body. The campus facilities and resources are top-notch, creating a vibrant and supportive community for students.”

The University of Greenwich was also successful in StudentCrowd’s Best Universities in London award earlier this year, ranking #1 according to student reviews.

Source: FE News

Britain said on Tuesday it would remove the right of some international students to bring family members into the country, part of measures to bring down annual net migration which reached a record last year.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to bring down legal migration and said last week that he was considering a range of options to reduce the high levels of arrivals, part of his promises before an election expected next year.

The interior ministry said the new measures, which target post-graduate students except those on research programmes, will help cut migration “substantially” and stop people from using student visas as a backdoor route to find work in Britain.

“We have seen an unprecedented rise in the number of student dependents being brought into the country with visas,” interior minister Suella Braverman said in a statement.

“This is the fair thing to do to allow us to better protect our public services, while supporting the economy by allowing the students who contribute the most to keep coming here.”

Current rules allow postgraduate students studying courses lasting nine months or longer to bring partners and children to Britain, but the government said the number of dependants had jumped eightfold since 2019, to 136,000 people last year.

The measures, which will be effective from January, come before Thursday’s release of annual net migration estimates for 2022. For the year ending June 2022, net migration reached an all-time high of 504,000.

Numbers should fall to pre-pandemic levels in the medium term, Braverman added, without offering a firm target.

High levels of legal migration, and the additional pressures on struggling public services, has long dominated Britain’s political discourse and was one of the major drivers for the Brexit referendum in 2016.

Britain will also remove the ability for international students to switch out of the student route into work routes before their studies have been completed, the interior ministry said.

Student visas accounted for the largest proportion of migration to the UK with 486,000 issued last year, it added.

Source: Reuters

The United Kingdom last year issued most of their visas to Indian applicants, including a record number of student visas.

British High Commissioner to India Alex Ellis said that out of the 2,836,490 visas the UK issued last year, 25% were issued for Indians and New Delhi also recorded the highest number of student visas.

Ellis said that in 2021, student visas from India saw a 73% increase and work visas saw a a 130% hike.

“Last year UK issued 2,836,490 visas; 25% of those went to India, more than to any other country. Indian nationals received: highest student visas increased by 73% in 2021, most work visas increased by 130%, largest share of visit visas, 30% of the world,” the British High Commissioner tweeted.

Despite reports of curbing immigration, the UK government has taken steps to invite more migrants to the country.

The India-UK Young Professionals Scheme is now open to graduates aged between 18 and 30 and keen to live, study, travel and work for up to two years in either country.

The reciprocal system, green-lit at the end of last year, is pegged as a chance for young people from both countries to “benefit from cultural experiences and inject expertise into both economies”.

A further ballot is to be held later in the year.

“This is an excellent opportunity for India’s brightest young people between the ages of 18-30 to experience the best of the UK,” said the British High Commission in New Delhi as it released the detailed eligibility criteria for the new scheme.

Applicants must also have the relevant educational qualifications – bachelor’s degree level or above – and possess Pound 2,530 (approximately Rs 2.6 lakhs) in savings. They must also not have not have any dependent minor children.

Source: Economic Times

The United Kingdom is planning to restrict international students from bringing immediate family members like spouses and children unless they study “high-value” degrees.

As per a news report published in The Times, only international students studying science, mathematics, and engineering will be able to bring their dependents to the UK.

Foreign students would also be banned from bringing families unless they are studying at a higher level, such as a master’s degree or PhD, the report added.

Britain has registered a near-eightfold rise in the number of family members joining foreign students. As per the immigration figures, nearly 5 lakh students were given visas last year. They were accompanied by 135,788 dependants — spouses and children — up from 16,047 in 2019.

Of these, India became the largest source of students with 161,000 students, including 33,240 dependents, coming to the UK last year.

Asylum backlog hit a record high, with more than 160,000 migrants waiting for decisions on their applications, the report said.

However, the report said that the government is yet to take a final decision on this contentious matter.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has drawn up proposals to reduce the number, which includes shortening the duration foreign students can stay in Britain post their course.

However, according to the Department of Education, the restrictions will bankrupt UK universities, which depend on foreign students for money.

According to estimates, international students add 35 billion pounds a year to the economy.

According to UK-based New Way Consultancy, foreign students and their dependents contributed to the UK economy not just through fees of 10,000 pounds to 26,000 pounds but also via an NHS surcharge of 400 pounds a year for the student and 600 pounds for a dependent.

It warned that curbs on graduate work visas will force Indian students to shift to countries like Australia and Canada, ultimately leading to the end of the student market in the UK.

Source: Economic Times

Within its latest immigration update, the UK government has confirmed that the dependants of postgraduate Tier 4 international students who get a post-study work visa from 2021 will “have near full access to the UK labour market and can work at any skill level”.

In a statement that provides further details on the government’s plans for a new UK points-based immigration system, the Home Office unveiled more details around the graduate route due to launch next year.

“The graduate route will be launched in summer 2021 to provide international students the opportunity to stay in the UK to work or look for work after they graduate,” the statement explained.

“Undergraduate and master’s degree students will be able to stay for two years under the route, whilst PhD students will be able to stay for three years.”

It also explained that graduates “will be able to switch into other routes in line with the wider approach to switching when applying for leave inside the UK”, including the ability to switch into work routes if they are able to meet the requirements.

“The graduate route will also increase the attractiveness of the UK’s offer to international students, ensuring we remain internationally competitive and assist in our ambition to increase the number of international students in higher education as set out in the International Education Strategy,” the Home Office statement continued.

Regarding dependants, the Home Office statement explained that students will be able to bring dependants “if studying at postgraduate level for at least nine months at a Higher Education Provider with a track record of compliance, or if government-sponsored to study a course longer than six months”.

“Skilled workers and postgraduate students will continue to have the right to bring dependants,” it read, highlighting that a dependant’s application must be linked to that of the main applicant.

“In general dependants have near full access to the UK labour market and can work at any skill level.”

The statement also revealed that it will be extending the period of time in which a student can apply for permission to come to the UK before the start of their course, from three to six months.

“We will also be removing the study time limit for students studying at a postgraduate level, although students will still be expected to be progressing academically in their studies when making a further application in the UK,” it noted.

Source: https://thepienews.com/news/gov-uk-work-rights-for-dependants-of-psw-postgrads/

UK Visa Application Centres in India :

From 6 July UK Visas and Immigration is beginning a phased resumption of services and the following Visa Application Centres in India will be open from the same date.

• Ahmedabad
• Bengaluru (Global Tech Park)
• Chandigarh
• Chennai (see note below)
• Cochin
• Hyderabad
• Jalandhar
• Kolkata
• Mumbai (South)
• New Delhi
• Pune

Customers who were unable to attend an earlier appointment, will be able to log into their account to book a new appointment. Customers who have completed their application on GOV.UK, but didn’t previously book an appointment at the Visa Application Centre, can do so from today.

Customers who wish to visit Chennai Visa Application Centre should return to this page once the local lockdown is lifted, for information on when they will be able to book an appointment.

The remaining Visa Application Centres and Enrolment locations in India will not be open for some time. We will be contacting customers who had previously booked appointments at these centres to arrange for you to complete your application at a different location.

Your safety is our priority, so customers visiting our Visa Application Centres may be asked to observe physical distancing, undergo temperature checks or be required to wear facemasks, subject to local authority guidelines. Please note; customers must have an appointment to visit the Visa Application Centre.

Customers exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms, including fever (higher than 37.3 degrees Celsius), cough or difficulty breathing will be helped to reschedule their application submission for another day and will be advised to seek medical attention at the nearest healthcare facility of their choice.

Please also be aware, that due to restrictions still in place globally, we are not currently able to offer the following services: Super Priority Visa, Priority Visa Service (visit), Priority Visa for settlement or migration Service and Walk-in services.

We strongly advise all customers to purchase Courier Return of their documents, so they do not have to visit the Visa Application Centre again, after a decision is made.

If a decision has been made on your application, and you need to collect your passport from the Visa Application Centre, we will be contacting you to arrange this.

Overseas British Passport Applications
If you’re a British national and you wish to renew or apply for a British passport from India; please visit gov.uk/overseas-passports for details on how to do this.

We will continue to monitor the situation and post updates on this page.

There are new rules in place for entering the UK because of coronavirus (COVID-19). Please check the latest information before you travel at gov.uk/uk-border-control.

Thank you for your understanding.

Source: https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/in/en/news/re-opening-of-selected-uk-visa-application-centres-in-india