From 30 November 2026, the money you must show in your bank account for a UK Student visa goes up. If you are studying in London it rises from £1,529 to £1,570 a month. Outside London it rises from £1,171 to £1,203 a month. The date attaches to when you apply, not when your course starts.
That is a small monthly change with a larger total behind it, and it arrives a month from now. This guide sets out what changed, what it adds up to, and the rules around it that catch people out. Every figure was read from the Home Office and UKCISA on 30 October 2026, and the links are at the bottom so you can check them yourself.
What is changing, and from when
The Home Office laid a Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules (HC 584) on 3 September 2026. Its explanatory memorandum states that the changes to the Student route maintenance requirement will come into effect on 30 November 2026.
The rule attaches to applications made on or after 30 November 2026. An application submitted on 29 November uses the current amounts. One submitted on 30 November uses the new ones.
| Where you study | Now (before 30 Nov 2026) | From 30 Nov 2026 | Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | £1,529 / month | £1,570 / month | +£41 / month |
| Outside London | £1,171 / month | £1,203 / month | +£32 / month |
The maintenance figure is capped at nine months however long your course runs. So the amounts you actually have to evidence are these:
| Nine-month total | Now | From 30 Nov 2026 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | £13,761 | £14,130 | +£369 |
| Outside London | £10,539 | £10,827 | +£288 |
At the exchange rate we hold on 29 October 2026 — £1 = ₹126.60 — the new nine-month figures come to roughly ₹17.9 lakh for London and ₹13.7 lakh outside London. The increase itself is about ₹46,700 and ₹36,500. Use a live rate on the day you prepare your statement rather than this one.
Why it goes up, and why it will go up again
This part is worth understanding, because it tells you what to expect next year. The explanatory memorandum says the student maintenance level is aligned with the maintenance loans available for home students, which is reviewed every year by the Department for Education, and that this change brings it into line with the 2026/2027 academic year.
So the figure is pegged to what the UK lends its own students, and that is reviewed annually. Expect another uplift in roughly a year. Plan with a margin rather than to the exact pound.
London or outside London, and what London actually means
The gap between the two rates is £367 a month, which over nine months is £3,303. It is the single biggest variable in this calculation, so the classification matters more than anything else here.
GOV.UK defines it plainly: London means the City of London and the 32 London boroughs. What counts is where your course is under the immigration rules, not where you intend to live. Renting a cheaper room outside the boroughs does not move you onto the lower rate. Nor does a university having London in its name settle the question either way — check the campus your course is actually taught at.
Tuition is separate, and it is the bigger number
The maintenance money sits on top of your course fees. You evidence funds for your first year of tuition as well, and the amount is the one printed on your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).
If you have already paid part of your tuition to the university, you evidence only the outstanding balance. For a master's at a university charging around £30,000, a student outside London is therefore demonstrating roughly £40,000 once maintenance is added — not £10,827.
One exemption is worth knowing: if you have already been in the UK on a valid visa for at least 12 months on the date you apply, you do not need to prove either the course fees or the maintenance money.
The 28-day rule, which is where applications actually fail
Having the money is not sufficient. GOV.UK requires that you have held it for at least 28 days in a row, and that the end of that 28-day period falls within 31 days of the date you apply.
Both halves bite. Money that arrived last week does not qualify however much of it there is. A statement showing a flawless 28-day balance from four months ago is too old to use. The window has a floor and a ceiling.
The practical consequence is simple: if the balance dips below the required amount even once inside those 28 days, the clock starts again. Move the money in, then leave it completely alone.
Loans, sponsorship and accommodation already paid
Three things can change what you need to show, and not one of them works automatically:
- Education loans. GOV.UK says that if you have a student loan or financial sponsorship you must provide evidence of it from the loan or sponsorship company. A sanction letter is not interchangeable with a bank balance, and not every loan product qualifies — the rules set conditions on who the lender is and on what the letter has to state.
- Official financial sponsorship. Treated under its own provisions, again with evidence required from the sponsor.
- Accommodation already paid. If you are living in university or college accommodation and have already paid your Student sponsor for it, a capped amount can be deducted from what you need to show. UKCISA confirms that cap is also rising, to £1,570, from the same date.
Do not assume any of these applies to you until someone has checked your actual documents against the current rules. This is the part of a student visa application where a confident assumption is most expensive.
Indian students are not exempt from proving funds
GOV.UK operates a differential evidence requirement list. Nationals of the countries and territories on it do not have to prove they hold the money up front, although they may still be asked for it before a decision is made.
India is not on that list. It is an easy thing to misread, because Indonesia is on it and the two sit close together alphabetically. If you hold an Indian passport, plan on evidencing the full amount under the 28-day rule.
If you are applying near the deadline
An application submitted before 30 November 2026 is assessed on the current amounts. That is a real saving of £369 or £288, and for a January 2027 intake it may well be achievable.
Do not rush an application to catch it, though. An application filed before your 28-day period has properly matured, or before your CAS is right, is a far more expensive mistake than £369. Treat the date as a reason to start early, not to submit early.
Five mistakes we see
- Counting tuition inside the maintenance figure. They are two separate requirements and both have to be met.
- Using a balance that has not sat still for 28 days — or one whose 28-day window closed more than 31 days before the application.
- Assuming the outside-London rate because you will live outside London. Your course location decides it.
- Treating a loan sanction letter as automatically sufficient. The rules set conditions; check your letter against them.
- Budgeting to the exact figure. It is a floor for a visa, not an estimate of what living in the UK costs.
Questions we get asked
How much bank balance is required for a UK Student visa in 2026?
For applications made on or after 30 November 2026: £1,570 a month for courses in London and £1,203 outside London, for up to nine months — £14,130 and £10,827. Before that date the figures are £1,529 and £1,171, giving £13,761 and £10,539. Course fees are required on top of this.
When exactly do the new amounts take effect?
They apply to applications made on or after 30 November 2026. The trigger is your application date, not your course start date.
Is tuition included in the living-cost requirement?
No. Outstanding course fees are evidenced separately, using the amount on your CAS.
Can an education loan be used as financial evidence?
It can where it meets the requirements, and you must provide evidence from the loan company. Not every loan qualifies automatically, so have your sanction letter checked against the current rules before you rely on it.
How long must the funds be held?
At least 28 consecutive days, with that period ending within 31 days of your application date.
Are the requirements different for London?
Yes, and substantially: £367 a month more, which is £3,303 over nine months. London means the City of London and the 32 London boroughs, and it is your course location that counts.
Do Indian students have to prove the funds?
Yes. India is not on the differential evidence requirement list.
Where can I check the latest position myself?
The sources below. Immigration rules change, and this article was last checked on 30 October 2026.
Sources
Every figure above was read from these pages on 30 October 2026. If anything here disagrees with them, they are right and we are out of date.
- GOV.UK — Student visa: Money you need. The current amounts (£1,529 and £1,171), the nine-month cap, the 28-day and 31-day rules, the definition of London, and the differential evidence requirement list.
- UKCISA — Student update: Changes to the Immigration Rules, September 2026. The new amounts (£1,570 and £1,203), the 30 November 2026 application date, and the accommodation deduction cap rising to £1,570.
- GOV.UK — Explanatory memorandum to HC 584, 3 September 2026. The 30 November 2026 commencement date, and the alignment of the requirement with Department for Education maintenance loans for 2026/2027.
- GOV.UK — Student and Child Student caseworker guidance. The detailed guidance caseworkers apply to financial evidence, course fees and funds.
This article is information, not immigration advice. Your own circumstances decide which rules and exemptions apply to you, and the rules can change after this was written. Check the official pages above, or speak to a qualified adviser, before submitting anything.
Where Vibedu fits
We work out the exact figure your application needs — course location, the fee on your CAS, what you have already paid, whether your loan letter qualifies — against the rules in force on the day you apply. That costs you nothing: we charge students no fee for counselling or applications, because partner universities pay us.
If you are aiming at a 2027 intake, the useful thing to do this month is to work your 28-day window backwards from the date you intend to apply. Talk to us and we will map it out with you.