The amendment sits in Statement of changes HC 584, the package of immigration rule changes laid before Parliament on 3 September. Most of the package starts on 8 October, but student maintenance was given its own date: 30 November. The rise is modest, but real: London. Up from 1,529 pounds a month to 1,570 — plus 41. Over nine months: 13,761 against 14,130, a difference of 369 pounds. Rest of the UK. Up from 1,171 to 1,203 — plus 32. Over nine months: 10,539 against 10,827, a difference of 288 pounds.

Life

UK student visa: from 30 November you must show 14,130 pounds in the bank

The Home Office has raised the maintenance funds a prospective student must hold before applying. London goes to 1,570 pounds a month from 1,529; the rest of the country to 1,203 from 1,171. Across the standard nine months that is 14,130 and 10,827 pounds. The new figures bite on 30 November 2026, and it is the application date that counts, not the course start date.

Published 11 September 2026, 12:05 3 min read Editorial

A high-street bank branch in London — Twenty-eight days without a dip: the bank statement now carries as much weight in a student file as the passport. Photo: ONLYWAY NEWS

The Home Office has lifted the amount a prospective student must show in the bank when applying for a visa. Studying in London now requires 1,570 pounds a month; outside London, 1,203 pounds. Across the standard nine-month window that comes to 14,130 and 10,827 pounds. The new figures take effect on 30 November 2026.

What changed

The amendment sits in Statement of changes HC 584, the package of immigration rule changes laid before Parliament on 3 September. Most of the package starts on 8 October, but student maintenance was given its own date: 30 November.

The rise is modest, but real:

London. Up from 1,529 pounds a month to 1,570 — plus 41. Over nine months: 13,761 against 14,130, a difference of 369 pounds.
Rest of the UK. Up from 1,171 to 1,203 — plus 32. Over nine months: 10,539 against 10,827, a difference of 288 pounds.

How the money is counted

This is not tuition. Maintenance sits on top of the course fee: the Home Office wants evidence you can live here. The maximum period assessed is nine months, even on a longer course. A course shorter than nine months is counted by its actual length.

Then comes the part that trips people up. The money must sit in the account for 28 consecutive days, and on none of those days may the balance fall below the required figure — not for a day, not by a pound. The statement must be no older than 31 days at the point of application. If part of the first-year fee has already been paid to the university, it can be deducted from the required sum, but the payment must be recorded on the CAS.

Who is exempt

Applicants who have lawfully lived in the UK for 12 months or more at the date of application do not need to show funds. Separately, students whose costs are covered by a government or a recognised scholarship programme have the financial requirement reduced or removed, provided the CAS says so.

If you are applying this autumn

The date that matters is the date of application, not the start of the course. Apply before 30 November and the old figures apply. Apply on 30 November or later and the new ones do.

Three or four hundred pounds is not dramatic on its own. The 28-day rule is what makes it one. To qualify under the old figures, the money had to land in the account and stay frozen there from the start of November. Anyone applying near the cut-off is safer holding the new amount from the outset — then the exact filing day stops mattering.

Student money is not the only thing HC 584 moves. The package touches Skilled Worker, visitors, Long Residence, BN(O), the domestic abuse settlement route and the religious worker categories, and nearly every block carries its own date. A breakdown by date and route runs as a separate piece.

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