Foreign students seeking to study at universities in the United Kingdom will be required to demonstrate access to more money to cover their living expenses under revised student visa requirements.
Under the new rules, applicants planning to study in London must show they have £1,570 per month for living costs, up from the previous £1,529. This brings the total maintenance requirement for a nine-month course to £14,130.
For students studying outside London, the monthly requirement will increase from £1,171 to £1,203, bringing the total for a nine-month course to £10,827.
The required maintenance funds must be available in addition to tuition fees, visa application costs and the immigration health surcharge. A UK student visa currently costs £558, while the annual immigration health surcharge is £776.
According to a statement of changes to the immigration rules published by the Home Office on September 3, the new requirements will take effect from November 30.
Students applying from that date will be required to provide evidence that they have sufficient funds to cover the applicable maintenance requirement and tuition fees for one academic year. The money must have been held for at least 28 consecutive days before the application.
Applicants can demonstrate their financial capacity using funds in their personal accounts, their parents’ accounts, an eligible student loan or official financial sponsorship.
However, individuals who have lived in the UK with valid immigration permission for at least 12 months on the date of their application are generally exempt from providing evidence that they meet the financial requirement.
The changes come as the British government continues to tighten its international student visa system, building on measures introduced since 2024 to address what it describes as abuse of the student route.
Nigerians, who account for a significant proportion of international students in the UK, are expected to be among those affected by the higher financial requirements.
Home Office data released in August showed that Nigerians recorded 3,820 student visa extensions in the previous year, the third-highest figure after Chinese and Indian nationals.
Nigeria also ranked third among nationalities granted UK study visas, with 26,060 recipients, representing seven per cent of the total.
At an exchange rate of approximately N1,825 to £1, the new requirement means a Nigerian student planning to undertake a nine-month course in London would need access to about N25.8 million for living expenses alone.
This amount excludes tuition fees, visa application costs, flight tickets and the immigration health surcharge, further increasing the overall cost of studying in the UK.
