Student update: Changes to the Immigration Rules, September 2026
September 10, 2026
The Home Office has published a Statement of changes to the Immigration Rules which will affect immigration applications for the UK.
The Statement was published on 3 September 2026. Please see each relevant change below for specific details about when it will take effect. Home Office guidance to accompany these changes may not be published until on, or after, the effective dates of the changes.
Erasmus+
The UK has recently reached an agreement with the European Commission to rejoin the Erasmus+ programme from 2027. Changes are being made to the Visitor and Student routes to reflect this.
We will be releasing a separate news item focusing on this soon.
Student route – financial requirements
For applications made on or after 30 November 2026, the amounts of money required to be shown to meet the financial requirements will change.
- Students applying to study in London will be required to show they have £1,570 per month (up to a maximum of 9 months).
- Students applying to study outside of London will be required to show they have £1,203 per month (up to a maximum of 9 months).
If you will be living in university or college accommodation, and you have already paid money to your Student sponsor for your accommodation fees, you can continue to deduct a capped amount of money from the amount you have to show in your application. That capped amount of money will be increasing to £1,570.
Miscellaneous
Date of application – fee waivers
Changes are being made to the Rules concerning how the Home Office determines the date of application when an applicant submits a fee waiver request. For applications made on or after 8 October 2026, the date of application will only be treated as the date of the fee waiver request if:
- The completed application for permission to stay (which must be for the route for which the waiver was requested) is submitted within 10 working days of the fee waiver decision, or
- A paid application for permission to stay (which must be for the route for which the waiver request was made) is made prior to the fee waiver decision being received
This means that the Rules will more closely align with Home Office guidance about this (Fee waiver: Human Rights-based and other specified applications: last updated 11 September 2024). However, please note that UKCISA does not advise on fee waivers.
Submitting biometrics
Those applying for permission in the UK may, on occasion, “vary” their application. A “variation” is where a second immigration application is made before the first one has received a decision, and is done in very specific circumstances.
The Rules are being changed so that for all applications made on or after 8 October 2026, biometrics must be submitted within the deadline given for the first immigration application. A variation application will not extend the deadline by which to submit biometrics.
Where relevant, we will be updating our comprehensive information about visas and immigration for international students. Visit our international student advice pages, and sign up to our newsletter.
