UK to charge universities for each international student from 2028

Overview

Updated Oct 29

Every international student at an English university will carry a £925 annual charge from August 2028. Universities pay it, not students, and each provider's first 220 overseas enrolments are exempt.

The levy is meant to pay for maintenance grants of up to £1,000 for the poorest domestic students. On 26 October the Russell Group and the National Union of Students warned the money may not arrive. Study visa applications are down 22% in the past year, and the Department for Education's own model has the policy cutting 14,000 enrolments in its first year.

Why it matters

If international recruitment keeps falling, levy revenue shrinks — and students cover the gap through higher fees at the very universities meant to benefit.

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Key Indicators

£925

Annual levy per international student

Flat fee English providers pay per overseas student per year of study.

220

Exempt students per provider

Overseas enrolments each university may recruit before the charge applies.

£445M

Projected first-year levy revenue

Government forecast for 2028-29, rising to £480 million by 2030-31.

-22%

Fall in study visa applications

Home Office data for the past year, cited by university leaders on 26 October.

£1,000

Maximum grant for poorest students

Per year in the first two years of study; £750 in later years.

-14,000

Projected lost student enrolments, 2028-29

DfE's own impact model estimates the levy will reduce international recruitment.

86,368

Chinese sponsored study visas

Largest source market, year ending June 2026; India second at 82,523.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Josh MacAlister

Education Minister

Defending the levy in Parliament

Vivienne Stern

Chief Executive, Universities UK

Leading opposition to the levy

Libby Hackett

Chief Executive, Russell Group

Warning that the visa slump puts student grants at risk

Organizations Involved

Department for Education

UK Government Department

Policy owner; published impact analysis and consultation response

The UK department designing and delivering the international student levy.

Office for Students

Regulator

Will collect the levy from August 2028

England's higher education regulator, tasked with administering levy collection using enrolment data.

Universities UK

Membership Body

Leading institutional opposition

Umbrella body for 142 UK universities, publicly critical of the levy.

Russell Group

University Membership Body

Warns the levy may not fund the grants it was designed for

Represents 24 research-intensive UK universities and campaigns against the levy's design.

National Union of Students

Student Membership Body

Warning that maintenance grants may go unfunded

Represents students across UK universities and colleges; co-signed the October warning on levy funding.

Timeline

November 2025 October 2026

6 events Latest: October 27th, 2026 · 2 weeks ago

Tap a bar to jump to that date

October 2026
Consultation response confirms charge applies to dropouts
Latest Policy

The government confirms the £925 fee applies to any international student enrolled for two weeks or more, even those who withdraw, and rejects calls for additional exemptions.
October 27th, 2026
Universities warn visa slump threatens grant funding
Warning

The Russell Group and the National Union of Students say a 22% fall in study visa applications over the past year means the levy may raise less than the £445 million forecast, putting £1,000 maintenance grants for disadvantaged students at risk. The Department for Education's modelling had assumed a 3.5% drop.
October 26th, 2026
Minister defends levy in Parliament
Statement

Education Minister Josh MacAlister reaffirms the policy, arguing tuition fee cap increases will generate far more for universities than the levy costs them.
October 19th, 2026
July 2026
Draft finance bill sets out the levy
Policy

The Department for Education publishes draft legislation charging £925 per international student per year from 1 August 2028, collected by the Office for Students and reinvested in higher education and skills. The rate is uprated annually and each provider gets an allowance of exempt students.
July 13th, 2026
February 2026
Levy consultation closes
Consultation

The Department for Education's three-month technical consultation on the levy's operation ends, with an impact assessment published in parallel.
February 18th, 2026
November 2025
Budget sets the £925 levy, opens consultation
Policy

The autumn budget announces an international student levy of £925 per overseas enrollee on English universities and launches a technical consultation on its design.
November 26th, 2025

Scenarios

Levy takes effect August 2028 as planned

Likely Resolves by Q3 2028

Discussed by: Government (Department for Education, Office for Students)

The policy launches unchanged. The Office for Students begins collecting the £925 charge on the 2028-29 academic year, and universities absorb the cost or pass it on through higher international fees — Birmingham City University has already announced increases of 2-3.5% and Bath has advised students to budget for 8% annual rises. Government revenue forecasts hold broadly.

Recruitment slide undercuts revenue projections

Possible Resolves by Q2 2029

Discussed by: Universities UK, Russell Group, National Union of Students, The i Paper

Declining study visa applications — already visible in Home Office data and cited by university leaders — combine with visa rule tightening to push international enrolments below the Department for Education's forecast. The government's own impact model projects 14,000 to 17,000 lost students annually. Levy revenue comes in under the £445 million first-year projection, straining the skills funding it was meant to support.

Government scales back the levy before launch

Unlikely Resolves by Aug 1, 2028

Discussed by: Recruitment sector, university finance directors

Continued recruitment pressure prompts a policy retreat before August 2028. The government raises the 220-student exemption threshold, exempts postgraduate courses, or softens the rate — all options the consultation response explicitly rejected but which remain open. A change would blunt the revenue hit to universities while still signaling border control.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

December 2024 - 2025

Australia's international student caps (2024-25)

Australia legislated caps on new international student commencements for 2025, citing housing and infrastructure pressure in major cities. Universities heavily dependent on overseas fee income warned of budget shortfalls and staff cuts as applications slowed.

Then

Recruitment to Australian universities cooled sharply, with several institutions revising revenue forecasts downward.

Now

The episode showed how quickly a top English-speaking destination can become less attractive when government policy signals restriction.

Why this matters now

The UK levy adds a cost layer on top of tightened visa rules — a similar demand-side clampdown that universities say will shrink the very revenue it targets.

January 2024

Canada's study permit cap (2024)

Canada capped new study permits at roughly 360,000 for 2024, a cut of about one-third from prior levels, citing housing strain. Colleges and universities that had expanded international recruitment to close funding gaps faced enrollment shortfalls.

Then

Study permit approvals fell and some institutions paused programs or trimmed staff.

Now

Set a precedent in major Anglophone markets for trading international enrollment against domestic housing concerns.

Why this matters now

The UK's levy follows the same logic — managing student numbers through cost and visa friction — with the same financial risk to institutions that chased international fees.

December 2010 - 2012

England's tuition fee cap rise (2012)

The coalition government trebled England's domestic tuition cap to £9,000 over bitter opposition, including mass student protests. Universities came to rely on fee income as direct teaching grants fell.

Then

Fees became the dominant funding line for English universities within a few years.

Now

Locked in a model dependent on both domestic fees and cross-subsidy from international students — the same pressure points today's levy touches.

Why this matters now

Today's government pairs the international levy with domestic fee cap increases, explicitly using one to justify the other — a return to the 2012 funding-model debate.