Student visa & permits in United Kingdom
Student visa, residence permit, registration, fees, deadlines and document guidance for studying in United Kingdom.
Read the complete United Kingdom study abroad guide.
Visa & Immigration
For most international students coming for a course longer than six months, the route is the Student visa. You cannot apply until your licensed student sponsor issues a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), and you must apply within six months of receiving it.
The financial requirement is precise. You normally need any tuition still unpaid for the first academic year as shown on your CAS, plus living costs of GBP 1,529 per month in London or GBP 1,171 per month outside London, for up to nine months. That is GBP 13,761 in London or GBP 10,539 outside London for a nine-month course. If you have already been in the UK with valid permission for at least 12 months when you apply, you normally do not have to prove the financial requirement again.
Where bank evidence is required, the money must generally have been held for 28 consecutive days and the evidence must be dated no more than 31 days before the application. Parent or partner funds can be used if the evidence rules are met. An accommodation deposit can reduce the maintenance amount only where it was paid to your student sponsor for accommodation the sponsor provides, and the offset is capped at GBP 1,529; payments to an ordinary private landlord do not receive that treatment.
The Student visa application fee is GBP 558 for applications made on or after 8 April 2026, both inside and outside the UK. Most applicants also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge at the student rate of GBP 776 per year of permission, calculated for the actual length of the visa.
Some courses require an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate, and applicants who meet the relevant country/residence criteria may need a tuberculosis test. Dependants are now tightly restricted: for courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, a postgraduate student normally needs to be on a PhD/doctorate or a research-based higher degree to bring dependants, unless they are a qualifying government-sponsored student.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/student-visa/money
Residence Permit
The UK has gone digital. Biometric residence permits have been phased out and your immigration status now lives as an eVisa in your UKVI account. Create the account, link your passport, and check the record is correct before you travel, because airlines check it.
There is no population registration in the British sense and no national identity number for residents. What you accumulate instead is a set of separate credentials: a National Insurance number if you work, a GP registration for healthcare, a bank account, and proof of address for everything else.
Police registration for foreign nationals was abolished in 2022. If a letter or an old guide tells you to register with the police, it is out of date.
Keep your UKVI account details safe and update your passport there whenever you renew it. Losing access is a common and tedious problem.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/online-immigration-status-evisa
Common questions
What should international students know about visa in United Kingdom?
CAS first; GBP 1,529/month in London or GBP 1,171 outside, normally held for 28 days. Student visa fee: GBP 558.
What should international students know about residence in United Kingdom?
Your status is a digital eVisa in a UKVI account. There is no population register and no national ID number.