UK student funds rise on 30 November. Applications made before then will be assessed under the existing amounts.
The same student, with the same money in the same account, may need to show a different amount depending on the day they apply. This is a funds requirement. Applicants prove they hold the money. They don't pay it to the Home Office. What counts is the date the application is made, not the date of the decision.
Until 29 November, a Student visa applicant who has to prove funds must show £1,529 a month for London study and £1,171 outside London, for up to nine months. That is £13,761 and £10,539. From 30 November the monthly figures rise to £1,570 and £1,203. That is £14,130 and £10,827, or £369 more in London and £288 more outside it.
The Home Office says the increase keeps the requirement in line with maintenance loans for home students in 2026/27. Applications made before 30 November will be decided under the rules in force on 29 November. The required funds must normally be held for 28 consecutive days, ending no more than 31 days before the application. Applicants already in the UK with valid permission for 12 months or more generally meet the requirement without showing funds.
A second change affects the same students later, at the end of the degree. Graduate visas granted on applications from 1 January 2027 last 18 months instead of two years, except for PhD graduates, who keep three. Applications made by 31 December 2026 keep two years. That is six months less permission to work and look for work after the degree for anyone who applies later.
ICEF Monitor analysed Home Office data and said grants to Nigerians were down at least 50 per cent in the second quarter of 2026. The comparison is with the second quarter of 2025. Its summary doesn't say whether dependants are included, and the figure covers study visas only.
30 November changes what a student must show. 1 January changes what a graduate receives.
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