If you are planning to go to the United Kingdom on a student visa next year, then gear up for spending more money. The maintenance money for studying in London which stood at £12,006 has been raised to £13,347, an additional £1,341 (11.17 per cent) to show in your bank account for a 28-day period.
This is the minimum money which the visa applicant (or his/her sponsor) must show in their bank account apart from the funds for tuition that one has to show. The change has been rolled out in view of the rising cost of living in the UK.
At the same time, the students who are planning to study outside London will have to show £10,224 for one year instead of £9,207 now, reflecting an increase of 11.05 per cent from next year onwards.
The change is set to come into force from Jan 2, 2025 onwards, mentions British government’s official website.
Tuition fee
Meanwhile, it is vital to note that the fund requirement is towards maintenance expenses in the UK. The students, besides this money, also need to show sufficient money in their bank account towards the tuition fee, of course.
For instance, someone called A has applied for a college in London which has a total fee of £20,000 tuition fee.
Let us suppose, ‘A’ has already paid £5,000 prior to applying for the visa. At the time of applying for the visa, ‘A’ will have to show £15,000 (£20,000 – £5,000) towards the tuition apart from £13,347. And if the college is located outside London, he will have to show £10,224 instead.
Meanwhile, in another news, UK has replaced physical copies of residency cards known as Biometric Residency Permits (BRPs) with eVisas with effect from Dec 31, 2024.
Yvette Cooper, Home Secretary, told a home affairs committee on Dec 17, that nearly one million immigrants are yet to receive their eVisas.