Latest Immigration News For Students

Read about the latest immigration changes and news which may affect you.

For all Students

Increase in visa applications fees from 8th April 2026:

UKVI has increased a number of visa application fees that may affect you. If you are applying for or extending a Student visa, the fee has risen from £524 to £558 for both main applicants and dependants, whether you apply from overseas or within the UK. If you are planning to stay in the UK after your course, the Graduate Route application fee has gone up from £880 to £937.

The electronic travel authorisation (ETA) now costs £20 (previously £16), and the short-term study visa for English language courses of 6 to 11 months has risen from £214 to £228. If you are switching into another immigration category, "Leave to remain – Other" applications have increased from £1,321 to £1,407, and Indefinite Leave to Remain from £3,029 to £3,226. Please note that these figures do not include the Immigration Health Surcharge, which is paid separately.

The following resources are available:

• Home Office immigration and nationality fees: GOV.UK

Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) strictly enforced:

From today, 25 February 2026, carriers will prevent eligible travellers from boarding if they do not have an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).

People who do not need a visa for short stays and who do not hold valid UK immigration status must obtain an ETA before travelling. An ETA is required for visitors and those taking connecting flights where they go through passport control.

Travellers must apply using the passport they intend to travel with. The ETA links digitally to that document. Most applications are processed quickly, although some may take longer. We recommend applying at least three working days before travel.

British and Irish citizens, including dual citizens, are exempt from needing an ETA but will be required to present either a valid British passport or Certificate of Entitlement (CoE) when travelling to the UK. This is the same approach taken by other countries, including the US, Australia and Canada. At their own discretion, carriers may accept some expired British passports as alternative documentation.

The following resources are available:

• Guidance and how to apply: GOV.UK

Visitor Visa applicants now get eVisas

From today, 25 February 2026, most visa nationals applying for a Visitor Visa will receive an eVisa only, replacing physical visa vignette stickers.

These changes streamline the process for visa applicants who now only need to visit the Visa Application Centre (VAC) once to confirm their identity and receive their passport back at the same appointment. Decisions will be communicated by email, and for those granted a visa, they will need to set up a UKVI account to access their eVisa.

The following resources are available:

• eVisa guidance: GOV.UK
• Set up a UKVI account: GOV.UK

Increase to maintenance requirements for Students from 11 November 2025

We want to highlight an important change in this Statement for Students applying for immigration permission under the ‘Student’ route on or after 11 November 2025.

The amounts of money Students will be required to have available as evidence of meeting the maintenance requirements are increasing, for those applying under the Student route on or after 11 November 2025. The new amounts are as follows:

• £1529 per month in London (up to a maximum of 9 months)
• £1171 per month outside London (up to a maximum of 9 months)

The maximum amount of money that can be offset for accommodation will also be increased in line with the changes to the maintenance requirement. This will be £1529 for those applying under the Student route on or after 11 November 2025.

Changes to the Graduate route from January 2027

The length of a grant of permission under the Graduate route will be changing for some applicants at the start of 2027.

For those with Student permission in the UK that have successfully completed an eligible UK bachelor’s degree or master’s degree, successful Graduate route applications will be granted 18 months of permission if the application is made on or after 1 January 2027. This is a reduction from the current grant of two years. This was forecast by the Immigration White Paper that was released in May 2025. Changes do not apply to anyone making an application under the Graduate route before 1 January 2027.

Those that successfully complete a PhD or other doctoral qualification will be also unaffected by the changes and will continue to receive three years of permission if successful.

Eligible non-European national visitors applications are now open

27 November 2024 marked a major step in the UK Government’s plan to digitise the UK border and immigration system.

All eligible non-European national visitors can now apply for an  Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) and will need one to travel to or transit through the UK from 8 January 2025.

In 2025 ETAs will be open to eligible Europeans, who will be able to apply from 5 March 2025 and will need an ETA to travel to or transit through the UK from 2 April 2025.

From April 2025, all travellers to the UK, except British and Irish citizens, will need permission to travel in advance through either ETA or an eVisa.  

Eligible visitors should apply for their ETA through the UK ETA app, which is quick and simple to use and enables most applicants to receive a decision within hours.

People who require a visa to visit the UK will continue to do so and should not obtain an ETA. Those who are exempt from immigration control will not require an ETA.

For further information please visit the Government website.

ETA is extending in two phases:

• Eligible non-Europeans can apply in advance from 27 November 2024 and will need an ETA to travel to the UK from 8 January 2025.
• Eligible Europeans can apply from 5 March 2025 and will need an ETA to travel to the UK from 2 April 2025.

Visitors can find out when they will need an ETA here:  Check when you can get an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) on the Government website.

Does my biometric residence permit (BRP) expire on 31 December 2024?

This message is for City St George's students who hold a Student visa.

The UK Home Office has advised that the UK border and immigration system is becoming digital, and any physical documents such as BRPs and vignette visa stickers are being replaced by eVisas.

Learn more about eVisas in this video from the Home Office.

What does this mean for you?

If you hold an electronic visa of the correct duration, no action is required at this time.

If your student visa is valid after 2024 but your BRP expires 31 December 2024, you will need to take action before your BRP expires. You will be required to create a UKVI account to access your eVisa before the end of 2024.

If you do not have an eVisa yet, the UKVI should send you an email between now and summer with instructions on how to create an account to access your eVisa.

Please make sure you regularly check your inbox including junk folder to make sure you don’t miss important communications from UKVI. This process should open for everyone in the summer and the university’s Visa Compliance team will send further information when they hear more from the Home Office.

If you hold a BRP, please visit the Government's webpage for the latest information.

Once you receive the instruction from UKVI and create your UKVI account, please make sure that you check your eVisa has the correct end date.

Check the amount of leave you have been granted

The length of your Student visa depends on the length of your course.

You can use the table below to determine if you have been granted the correct amount of leave.

UKVI Priority and Super Priority Student visa services resume

UKVI advised us that it resumed Priority Visa (PV) and Super Priority Visa (SPV) services for new Student route visa applications on Friday 12 August 2022.

UKVI has provided a series of questions and answers (Q&A), addressed to Student route applicants:

1. How long will my Student visa take?
2. I have already submitted my application at the VAC. Will I be able to get retrospective Priority or Super Priority visa for my student visa application?
3. I booked my VAC appointment last week, and want to upgrade to the priority service - why can’t I do this?
4. What if I want to withdraw my standard application and apply using Priority or Super Priority now that it’s available?
5. What can I do to help speed up my Student visa application?

• Before you start your application check that you have all the documents you need. This will mean UKVI won’t need to contact you for further documentation.
• Make sure you have your documents ready and try not to rush your application. Check the information you have provided is correct.
• Make sure the funds (proof to show you have enough money to pay for your course and support yourself in the UK) are stored in your (or your parent’s/legal guardian’s) bank account for at least 28 consecutive days before you apply for your visa. We also advise you add a little extra money to the account to allow for currency fluctuations.
• There are no visa appointments to book, what should I do?

Appointments are continually being released so if you are not able to get an appointment time to suit you, please keep checking back on the VFS Global and TLScontact websites.

Some locations have more than one appointment centre so if you are not able to find a suitable appointment at your preferred location, you may wish to check availability at other locations near you.

You should consider applying as early as you can so that you have plenty of time to attend your appointment and receive your visa before your course is due to start. Applications can be made up to 6 months before the course start date.

Changes for international students

On 23 May, the UK Government announced some important changes for international students. These changes include:

• Removing the right for international students to bring dependants unless they are on postgraduate courses currently designated as research programmes.
• Removing the ability for international students to switch out of the student route into work routes before their studies have been completed.
• Reviewing the maintenance requirements for students and dependants.

Please visit UKCISA - international student advice and guidance for full updates.

We have no other details about these changes yet, but we will issue further news items when we have updated information from the government.

End of Police Registration Scheme

The Government has decided to abolish the Police Registration Scheme. The scheme, which requires some migrants to register with the police, is suspended with immediate effect.

The Home Office is abolishing the requirement to register with the police as the police registration scheme in its current form is outdated and no longer provides any public protection benefit to either the Home Office or the police. The data a migrant provides to the police on registration is already captured by the Home Office at the visa application stage, and is available to the police on request via Immigration Enforcement, so there is no need for it to be provided twice.

For further information please see our Police Registration webpage

International students on visas being targeted by fraud

We are aware that a number of students across UK universities have been targeted by fraudsters and have lost large sums of money.

One very serious scam is targeting Chinese students directly– it can involve WeChat and mobile contacts.

Students are contacted on their mobile phone by people claiming to represent their bank, embassy, police or other reputable agency and are told they owe funds immediately or that their family owe money.

A recent scam targeted an Indian student.

They were called by someone introducing themselves as from HMRC (the UK tax collection agency) and the caller then pretended to connect the call directly to a caseworker at the Crown Court in Birmingham (and that number appeared to be the genuine number of the Crown Court).

The student was told that:

• They had failed to pay an immigration tax and that there were now four charges against them.
• There was an arrest warrant against them and if the student disconnected the call the police would arrest them immediately and all their bank accounts would be frozen.
• The student was told that if they made the payment immediately while they are on the call then all the allegations will be withdrawn. The student was scared and made the transfer. And after almost 1 hour the caller disconnected the call. When the student tried to call the Crown Court back and asked to speak to the alleged case officer they were informed that no such officer worked there.

Please remember that the Home Office or UKVI will never a call an international student to request personal details or payments.

Do not make payments or give personal information from people making calls like this.

If you think you may have been targeted or have any concerns please contact us or call 020 7040 7040, or University Security if outside 0900-1700, 020 7040 3172.

Further advice on frauds and scams is available on the UKCISA website and the Government website.

Phishing and scam advice is also available from City St George's IT department