Indian students planning a UK course for January or later will need to show a little more money in the bank. Under a change to the Immigration Rules laid before Parliament on 3 September 2026, the monthly living-cost figure for a Student visa goes up on 30 November 2026.
The new figure is 1,570 pounds a month for a course in London, up from 1,529 pounds. Outside London it becomes 1,203 pounds, up from 1,171 pounds. Students show this money for each month of the course, up to nine months, on top of the course fee still owed for the first year.
What the higher figure means in total
Nine months is the most anyone is asked to show, so it gives the clearest picture. For London, the living-cost amount moves from 13,761 pounds to 14,130 pounds, a rise of 369 pounds. Outside London it moves from 10,539 pounds to 10,827 pounds, a rise of 288 pounds. These sums come before course fees and before any extra money for family members.
The cap on an accommodation deposit that can be counted against the requirement moves up too, from 1,529 pounds to 1,570 pounds. This applies only where the student has already paid the deposit to the university or college for housing the institution arranged.
The Home Office says in its explanatory memorandum that the figure is pegged to the maintenance loans offered to home students in England, which the Department for Education reviews every year. The new amounts match the loans for the 2026 to 2027 academic year, and the Home Office says it will keep them in step in future years.
Who is caught by the change, and when
The rise applies to applications made on or after 30 November 2026. The Statement of Changes, published as HC 584, says an application made before that date will be decided under the rules in force on 29 November. So a student who applies in early or mid November is assessed against the old figures, even if the decision comes later.
Indian applicants generally have to prove these funds when they apply. India is not on the GOV.UK list of countries whose nationals can skip the money evidence when they apply. Students already in the UK on a visa for at least 12 months on the date they apply do not need to show the living-cost money at all.
The timing rule is the part that trips people up. GOV.UK says the money must sit in the account for at least 28 days in a row, and the 28-day stretch must end within 31 days of the visa application. Anyone applying in December therefore needs the higher balance in the account from some point in November, not just on the day the form is filed.
Other student changes that start sooner
The same Statement of Changes brings in rules on 8 October 2026 to prepare for the UK rejoining the European Union's Erasmus+ exchange programme, which the UK and the EU have agreed will happen in 2027. Licensed sponsors will be able to bring in Erasmus+ students on the Student route even where the course does not lead to a recognised qualification, and some short Erasmus+ activities will be allowed on a visitor visa. This mostly matters to Indian students enrolled at European universities whose programmes include a spell in the UK.
The visa fee itself is not moving. As we reported, the UK keeps its 558 pound Student visa fee and other charges unchanged from 8 October, while the two-year Graduate visa window closes on 31 December. Australia has tightened its own route as well, and our report on Australia's new Student visa rules from 2 October explains who can still apply from inside that country.
Students with a January intake are the group most likely to feel the change, since many will apply in December. Checking the course start date, the planned application date and the 28-day window against the new figures now is simpler than topping up an account in a hurry later. This is general information, not immigration advice, and the GOV.UK guidance on finances for student applications sets out how to prove the money.
