UK Student Visa Financial Requirements 2026
What a Nepali student must evidence for a UK Student visa in 2026: £1,483 or £1,136 a month for up to 9 months, plus the tuition on your CAS.
The short answer
For a UK Student visa you must evidence maintenance money of £1,483 per month for a course in London or £1,136 per month outside London, for each month of the course up to a maximum of 9 months — that is £13,347 or £10,224. That maintenance sits on top of the tuition fee shown on your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), and the money must have been held for 28 consecutive days before you apply.
Those are the two numbers. Everything below is about the catches that turn a correct number into a refusal.
The catches, in one place
- The 9-month cap applies regardless of course length. A one-year taught masters and a three-year bachelor's both evidence the same maintenance figure.
- Maintenance is in addition to tuition, not instead of it. If you have already paid part of the tuition and your CAS records that payment, the CAS balance is what counts.
- London versus outside London is a Home Office definition tied to the institution's location, not to how big or busy the town feels. Confirm which side of the line your specific campus falls on.
- Figures and rules change. Check the gov.uk Student visa page for the thresholds in force on the date you apply, and check the university's own fees page for the fee in force for your intake.
The 28-day rule: where Nepali applications actually fail
Financial evidence is the most common point of refusal, and it is almost never because the family did not have the money. It is because of how the money sat in the account.
Three conditions apply together:
- The maintenance amount must be held for 28 consecutive days. If the balance dips below the required figure on day 19, the clock restarts.
- The end of that 28-day period must be within 31 days of the date of the visa application. A statement prepared months in advance is useless.
- The account must be in the student's name or a permitted sponsor's name. If a parent or relative is funding, you need relationship evidence, their consent letter and their bank statements.
Prepare the bank statements around the application date, not early. Check whose name the account is in before you submit — not after.
Fees on the CAS: what you will be asked to evidence alongside maintenance
These are published tuition fees for the institutions covered in our UK module. The maintenance column is the Home Office figure for that campus location. Add the two yourself — we quote them separately on purpose, because the CAS fee may change and because part-payments reduce what you must show.
| Course | Tuition | London for visa purposes? | Maintenance to evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master's — Bradford, classroom-based | £15,700 | No | £10,224 |
| Master's — UCB Band 1 | £17,500 | No | £10,224 |
| Master's — Keele Band 1 (business/MBA) | £18,200 | No | £10,224 |
| Master's — Ulster, standard taught masters | £18,310 | No | £10,224 |
| Master's — Huddersfield MA/MSc | £18,700 | No | £10,224 |
| Master's — Huddersfield London MSc | £18,700 | Yes | £13,347 |
| Master's — Gloucestershire Band A | £20,190 | No | £10,224 |
| Master's — London Met (from) | £20,000 | Yes | £13,347 |
| Bachelor's — Bradford, classroom-based (per year) | £16,100 | No | £10,224 |
| Bachelor's — UCB Band 1 (per year) | £16,500 | No | £10,224 |
| Bachelor's — Ulster (per year) | £17,490 | No | £10,224 |
| Bachelor's — Huddersfield (per year) | £17,600 | No | £10,224 |
| Bachelor's — Huddersfield London (per year) | £17,600 | Yes | £13,347 |
| Bachelor's — UCA (per year, 2026/27) | £18,000 | No | £10,224 |
| Bachelor's — Exeter science/engineering (per year) | £31,200 | No | £10,224 |
| International Foundation Diploma — UCB | £11,000 | No | £10,224 |
| Foundation Certificate — UoLIC (Business/Law/Social Sci) | £22,640 | No | £10,224 |
| Pre-Master's — UoLIC (Business/Economics/Finance) | £25,210 | No | £10,224 |
Note the undergraduate fees marked "per year". A three-year degree is charged each year; the maintenance figure is not.
A deposit comes before the CAS. In this group deposits run from £1,000 at UCB (within one month of the offer) to £4,000 at Ulster (before CAS), and up to 50% of first-year tuition at London Met and UCB. Huddersfield London charges a separate non-refundable confirmation fee of £260 before the CAS request.
Two fee risks worth raising with your family before you accept: Keele caps any 2026/27 increase at 5% and notifies by 30 April 2026 (keele.ac.uk); Plymouth states on its own fees page that it reserves the right to increase fees if a government levy on international tuition fee income is implemented (plymouth.ac.uk). Ulster charges a separate clinical placement levy of £12,133 on relevant programmes (ulster.ac.uk).
The other costs the visa itself charges
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Student visa application (from outside the UK) | £558 |
| Student visa extend or switch (inside the UK) | £558 |
| Immigration Health Surcharge | £1,035 per year of stay |
| TB test | £65 |
| Dependant maintenance — London (see warning below) | £845/month per dependant, up to 9 months |
| Dependant maintenance — outside London (see warning below) | £680/month per dependant, up to 9 months |
| Graduate visa application, later, if taken | £937 + IHS £1,035/yr |
The IHS is paid as part of the application, so budget it alongside the £558, not later. A TB certificate from a UKVI-approved clinic is required for Nepalese applicants on courses longer than 6 months — book it before you apply, not after.
Dependants: the figures above are shown for completeness only. For postgraduate courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, a partner or child is permitted only where the course is a PhD or other doctorate (RQF level 8) or a research-based higher degree, or where the student is government-sponsored on a course longer than 6 months. A taught MSc, MA or MBA does not qualify.
Living costs: the visa floor is not the real budget
The Home Office minimum is a floor for the visa, not a budget for the year. Outside London the gap between the two is real; in London it is small. London/non-London is worth £347 a month on the visa figure alone, so confirm the campus.
| Location | Visa minimum | Realistic monthly | Typical rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| London (UWL, City St George's, St Mary's, Huddersfield London, London Met, Arden London) | £1,483/month | £1,300 – £1,900 | £800 – £1,300 |
| Manchester (MMU, Arden Manchester) | £1,136/month | £950 – £1,350 | £550 – £850 |
| Birmingham (UCB, Arden Birmingham) | £1,136/month | £900 – £1,300 | £500 – £800 |
| Belfast / Coleraine / Derry (Ulster) | £1,136/month | £800 – £1,150 | £400 – £700 |
| Bradford / Huddersfield | £1,136/month | £800 – £1,150 | £400 – £650 |
| Keele / Staffordshire | £1,136/month | £800 – £1,150 | £450 – £700 on campus |
| Plymouth / Exeter / Cornwall | £1,136/month | £900 – £1,300 | £500 – £850 |
| Cheltenham / Gloucester | £1,136/month | £850 – £1,250 | £450 – £750 |
| Farnham / Canterbury / Epsom / Rochester (UCA) | £1,136/month | £950 – £1,400 | £550 – £900 |
| Liverpool (UoLIC) | £1,136/month | £850 – £1,200 | £450 – £700 |
The "visa minimum" column is official. The "realistic" and "rent" columns are sector estimates, not scraped figures — they exist so a family does not budget to the visa floor and run short in month four. Keele guarantees on-campus accommodation if the student applies by 30 June for a September start (keele.ac.uk). For UCA, Epsom and Farnham sit in London's cost shadow without being London for visa purposes — check which campus your offer names (uca.ac.uk).
Run your own course and city combination through the free Master Reckoner before you commit to a deposit.
Documents, timing and part-time work
Apply at the earliest 6 months before the course starts if you are applying from outside the UK; from inside the UK the earliest is 3 months before.
What you prepare:
- CAS — issued after the deposit, carrying the course, the fee and the amount already paid.
- Bank statements meeting the 28-day and 31-day rules.
- Academic transcripts and certificates — NEB/+2 or bachelor's. Nepalese documents may need official translation.
- English evidence — IELTS/PTE/TOEFL as the course requires, or an approved national qualification where the institution accepts one. London Met and UWL both publish approved lists for Nepal (uwl.ac.uk).
- TB certificate from a UKVI-approved clinic.
- Passport with sufficient remaining validity.
- Sponsor documents if the funds are not in the student's own name.
- ATAS certificate for some sensitive science and engineering subjects at postgraduate level.
On work: permitted hours depend on the course level and on term-time versus vacation, and are set per case — read your CAS rather than assuming the familiar 20-hour figure. At the National Living Wage of £12.71 an hour for those aged 21 and over, from 1 April 2026, 20 hours a week is about £254 gross a week. That helps with living costs. It does not pay UK tuition, and a budget that assumes it will is a budget that fails.
Attendance and academic engagement are monitored and reported. A compliance breach risks both the place and the visa.
More country guidance sits on the UK hub, and other destination guides are on the blog.
Official sources
- University of Exeter — https://www.exeter.ac.uk/
- Ulster University — https://www.ulster.ac.uk/
- Manchester Metropolitan University — https://www.mmu.ac.uk/
- Keele University — https://www.keele.ac.uk/
- City St George's, University of London — https://www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/
- University of Plymouth — https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/
- University of Huddersfield — https://www.hud.ac.uk/
- University of Huddersfield, London — https://london.hud.ac.uk/
- St Mary's University, Twickenham — https://www.stmarys.ac.uk/
- University of West London — https://www.uwl.ac.uk/
- University for the Creative Arts — https://www.uca.ac.uk/
- University of Gloucestershire — https://www.glos.ac.uk/
Maintenance thresholds, the visa fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge are published on gov.uk. Confirm them there on the day you apply.
Common questions
How much money do I need in the bank for a UK student visa from Nepal?
£1,483 per month for a London course or £1,136 per month outside London, for each month of the course up to a maximum of 9 months — so £13,347 or £10,224. That is on top of the tuition fee shown on your CAS, less any fees you have already paid. The money must be held for 28 consecutive days, with that period ending within 31 days of the application date.
Can I bring my spouse on a one-year UK master's?
No. For postgraduate courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, dependants are permitted only on a PhD or other doctorate (RQF level 8) or a research-based higher degree, or for a government-sponsored student on a course longer than 6 months. A taught MSc, MA or MBA does not qualify. Settle this with your family before you pay any deposit.
How long is the post-study work visa now?
It depends on your application date, not your course date. A bachelor's or master's graduate applying on or before 31 December 2026 gets 2 years on the Graduate Route; anyone applying on or after 1 January 2027 gets 18 months; doctoral graduates get 3 years. A student starting a one-year masters in September 2026 finishes in late 2027 and therefore falls into the 18-month group.
Can I realistically stay on and work in the UK afterwards?
The Graduate Route gives unsponsored work with no minimum salary, which is a genuine window to gain UK experience. Converting that into a longer stay means a licensed sponsor on a Skilled Worker visa, which since 22 July 2025 requires at least £41,700 a year, or £33,400 under the new-entrant and recent-graduate discount. The median UK graduate salary is £30,000 (HESA Graduate Outcomes 2023/24, published 4 June 2026). Plan for the degree and the experience to pay off in Nepal, India or the Gulf, and treat UK settlement as the exception rather than the plan.