UK raises required living-cost funds for international student visas

The UK is set to raise the amount of living costs that international students must show when applying for a visa, effective November 30. Under the new rule from the UK Home Office, students studying in London will need to show about £1,570 a month, up from the current £1,529.

Based on Nepal Rastra Bank's pound selling rate of Rs 203.04 set today, this comes to about Rs 319,000. For a maximum period of nine months in London, students will need to show a total of about £14,130, or nearly Rs 2.87 million. For those studying outside London, the monthly amount will rise from about £1,171 to £1,203, equivalent to about Rs 244,000.

This amount is separate from university tuition fees, and visa fees and the immigration health surcharge must be paid in addition.

According to Professor Padam Simkhada of the University of Chester, Nepal ranks fifth among countries sending students to the UK, after India, China, Pakistan and Nigeria. He said about 19,500 Nepali students received study visas in the year to December 2025, and that international students contributed about £41.9 billion to the UK economy in 2021-22. Data shows nearly 686,000 international students were studying in the UK in the 2024-25 academic year.