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Adult students - Tier 4 (General)

How much money do you need?

This page explains how much money you need in order to cover your course fees and your living costs when you apply for an adult student visa under Tier 4 (General) of our points-based system.

The money you will need depends on the length of your course and the location where you will study.

To score 10 points in our points assessment, you must show that you can pay your course fees for your first period of study (or for your next period of study, if you are applying to continue a course) and your living costs for up to nine months.

When you have calculated how much money you will need (see below), the Evidence required section explains how you can prove that you have this amount of money.

More information

  • Money to cover your course fees

    If you are applying to start a new course, you must show that you have enough money to pay your course fees for the first year of your course (or for the entire course, if it lasts less than a year).

    If you have already started your course and you are applying to extend your stay so that you can continue that course, you must show that you have enough money to pay your course fees:

    • to the end of the current academic year; or
    • for the next academic year, if you will continue your course at the start of the next academic year.

    If you are applying to do a 'st udy abroad' programme in the UK as part of an overseas course, you must show that you have enough money to pay any fees you need to pay to the Tier 4 sponsor for the first year of the programme (or for the entire programme, if it is less than a year long).

    Your confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) tells us the amount of money you need to show to pay your course fees. If you do not know what this amount is, you must ask your Tier 4 sponsor.

  • Money to cover your living costs

    The amount of money you must show to cover your living costs will depend on:

    • where you will be studying in the UK; and
    • whether you have recently been studying in the UK - if you are a current or recent student, we may consider that you have an 'established presence' as a student in the UK .
    Where are you studying?

    We calculate your living costs as:

    • £1,000 a month if you are spending more than half of your study time in inner London; or
    • £800 a month if you are spending more than half of your study time outside inner London .

    We define 'inner London' as any of the following London boroughs:

    • Camden, City of London, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, Westminster.

    If you want to check whether your main site of study is in inner London, you can enter your Tier 4 sponsor's postcode at the About my vote website . If do not know the address of of your main site of study, you must ask your Tier 4 sponsor.

    Do you have an 'established presence'?

    Any student (including a postgraduate doctor or a student union sabbatical officer) has an established presence studying in the UK if they:

    • completed a single course of study lasting at least 6 months during their most recent permission to stay in the UK; or
    • are applying to continue studying on a single course in the UK, of which they have completed at least 6 months.

    Additionally, their current or most recent permission to stay must have been:

    • under Tier 4; or
    • as a student under the former Immigration Rules that were in force until 30 March 2009; or
    • as a postgraduate doctor or dentist.

    You cannot amalgamate 2 or more courses to make up the 6 months' study.

    Your current location (inside or outside the UK) does not affect whether you have an established presence here as a student .

    How much money do you need?

    If you have an established presence, you must show that you have enough money to cover your living costs (see above) for:

    • 2 months; or
    • the length of your course, if this is less than 2 months.  

    If you do not have an established presence, you must show that you have enough money to cover your living costs (see above) for:

    • 9 months; or
    • the length of your course, if this is less than 9 months.

    If the length of your course includes a part of a month, we will round the time up to the next month. For example, if a course lasts 7 months and 2 weeks, you must show (unless you have an established presence) that you can pay your living costs for  8 months.

  • What money do I need if I am applying for a student visa?

    The money you need depends on the length of your course and where you will study.

     

    Length of course Where you will study Maintenance (funds) needed
    9 months or less Inner London

    Course fees

    and

    £1,000 to cover living costs for each calendar month of the course
    9 months or less Outer London or anywhere else in the United Kingdom

    Course fees

    and

    £800 to cover living costs for each calendar month of the course
    More than 9 months Inner London

    First year of fees

    and

    £9,000 to cover living costs for 9 months in the United Kingdom
    More than 9 months Outer London or anywhere else in the United Kingdom First year of fees

    and

    £7,200 to cover living costs for 9 months in the United Kingdom


    If you have already paid some of your fees or accomodation before applying for your visa, this amount will be taken away from the total amount of money you need to show. For accomodation, this only applies if you are staying in university or college arranged accomodation.