UK Student Visa Application – Costs, Process & Recent Rule Changes

Getting a UK Student Visa is more than filling in a form and waiting. Between 2024 and 2026, the Home Office reshaped who can bring family, how much the Visa really costs, and how parents can visit. Most guides online still repeat the same generic checklist. This guide covers the entire UK student visa application – from CAS to decision — including the real all-in cost, the dependent ban, ETA rules for visiting parents, and what to do if your Visa is refused.

Quick Overview

Step-by-Step Application Process

1. Get your CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) once you’ve accepted an unconditional offer. It carries a unique reference tied to your application.
2. Confirm your financial evidence — funds in your account for 28 days ending no more than 31 days before you apply, unless exempt.
3. Take a TB test, if your nationality is on the UK’s TB-testing list. Valid for 6 months.
4. Complete the online application and pay the Visa fee and Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS).
5. Book biometrics — at a Visa application centre or via the UK ID Check app.
6. Submit supporting documents: passport, CAS, financial evidence, TB certificate, ATAS certificate (if your course requires it), and translations of non-English documents.
7. Wait for your decision, trackable online throughout.

The Real Cost of a UK Student Visa

Most guides quote the Visa fee and stop. Here’s the full stack, per applicant:

Example: A 2-year Master’s applicant from a TB-testing country pays roughly £558 (Visa) + £1,552 (2 Year IHS) + a TB test ≈ £2,100–£2,200 before tuition or living costs.

Maintenance funds: £1,529/month for London courses, £1,171/month outside London (up to 9 months), held separately from tuition shown on your CAS.

The Dependant Ban: What’s Changed and Who’s Exempt

This is the biggest policy shift since 2024, and most guides still gloss it over. Since 1 January 2024, most Student Visa holders can no longer bring a partner or children — ruling out the majority of one-year taught Master’s students.

Still exempt:

• PhD and other doctoral students
• Research-based postgraduate degrees (where research outweighs taught modules)
• Government-sponsored students on courses longer than 6 months

No longer eligible, regardless of finances:

• Taught Master’s students (MSc, MA, MBA, LLM)
• Undergraduate students
• Pre-sessional English or foundation students

If you already had dependants in the UK before the change, you can generally extend their stay, but no new applications are possible unless your course qualifies. “Postgraduate” alone doesn’t guarantee eligibility — it must specifically be a research degree, so check your course’s classification on your CAS before accepting an offer.

Since Dependants Are Restricted — Can Parents Still Visit?

With most dependant routes closed, many families ask whether parents can at least visit for graduation or a holiday. In most cases, yes — the route just depends on nationality, not the student’s course type.

Visa-exempt nationalities (most EU/EEA countries, the US, Canada, Australia, and around 84 in total) don’t need a Standard Visitor Visa. Since the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme became fully mandatory on 25 February 2026, they instead need an ETA: £20, applied for online or via the UK ETA app, valid for 2 years (or until the passport expires), and good for multiple visits of up to 6 months each, covering tourism and visiting family. Every traveller needs their own ETA, including children — and carriers now refuse boarding without one, so apply well ahead of the trip.

Nationalities that still require a Visa to visit the UK (e.g. India, Pakistan, China, Nigeria) aren’t covered by the ETA. They’ll need a Standard Visitor Visa instead — a longer application with supporting documents and a fee well above the ETA’s £20.

Quick check: if a parent’s nationality could previously visit Visa-free, they now need an ETA. If it already required a visitor Visa, that hasn’t changed.

Switching In-Country, Part-Time & Distance Study

Switching from another UK Visa: generally possible from most categories (e.g. Graduate Visa), but not from visitor status. Decisions take up to 8 weeks, and you can usually continue on existing conditions while the application is pending.

Part-time and distance learning: a Student Visa requires full-time study, so most part-time and fully-online courses don’t sponsor a CAS. An exception exists for some part-time postgraduate research (typically capped around 50% of full-time), but confirm with your institution before assuming eligibility.

If Your Visa Is Refused

A refusal isn’t the end of the road. Depending on why it happened, you have three options:

1. Administrative Review — you can only request this if your decision letter tells you that this option is available to you. It must be requested within a set window of the refusal.
2. Reapplication — the more practical route if the refusal was due to a fixable issue, such as funds not held for the full 28 days. Correct the problem and reapply.

Before you submit, check your application against the most common refusal triggers: financial evidence held for the wrong period, unexplained gaps in your study history, and CAS details that don’t match your passport exactly.

Credibility Interviews: When They Actually Happen

UK Student Visa applications aren’t routinely interviewed. A credibility interview only happens if a caseworker flags a specific concern — for example, weak ties to your home country or inconsistencies between your CAS and your academic history. If you’re not contacted for one, there’s nothing to prepare for.

Summary

A UK Student Visa comes down to four things: a valid CAS, proof of funds held for the full 28-day window, the correct supporting documents, and an honest read of your own eligibility — especially around dependants. Budget for the full cost stack (Visa fee, IHS, TB test), not just the headline fee. If your course doesn’t qualify you to bring a partner or children, plan around visits instead: check whether your parents need an ETA or a Standard Visitor Visa well before booking flights. And if you’re ever refused, don’t panic — most refusals come down to a fixable documentation issue, not a dead end.