Cost of Studying in UK for Indian Students in 2026-27

  • Last Updated on: October 15, 2026 by
  • Shiva Sai Bejawada
Cost of Studying in UK for Indian Students
Cost of Studying in UK for Indian Students

The cost of studying in UK for an Indian student on a one-year master’s is from about ₹42.1 lakh to ₹90.5 lakh in year one. That covers tuition, a full year of living costs, the health surcharge and the ₹73,842 visa fee. The cheapest course in our totals table is Teesside’s MSc Computer Science; the most expensive is Imperial’s MSc Computing in London.

Written by
Shiva Sai Bejawada
Senior Counsellor (British Council Certified) -UK & Ireland
Shiva Sai Bejawada is a British Council Certified overseas-education counsellor at AOEC India who guides Indian students through UK and Ireland university selection, admissions, and student visa documentation.
6 Years, 96% visa approval rate
Reviewed by
Sridhar Kongara
Managing Director
Mr. Kongara Sridhar, Director of AOEC India, has over 12 years of experience in overseas education consulting, admissions, and student visa guidance.
Over 12 years Experience

Key Takeaways

  • A one-year master’s costs from ₹42.1 to 90.5 lakh in year one, visa fee included. A three-year Teesside bachelor’s costs an estimated ₹1.24 to 1.37 crore.
  • The health surcharge, paid with your visa for the NHS (the UK’s public health service), is £1,164 (₹1.48 lakh) for a one-year master’s.
  • If you apply on or after 30 November 2026, you must show £10,827 (₹13.74 lakh) outside London or £14,130 (₹17.94 lakh) in London, plus unpaid tuition, held for 28 days.
  • Already taking a bank education loan? Send fees from it to avoid the 2% TCS (tax collected at source). TCS on savings above ₹10 lakh a year counts as income tax already paid.
  • The Student visa fee in India was ₹73,842 on 12 October 2026.
Table of Contents
Total Cost of Studying in UK for Indian Students in 2026-27 Scroll here ↓ UK Tuition Fees for Indian Students by University and Course Scroll here ↓ Monthly Living Costs in UK: London vs Outside London Scroll here ↓ UK Student Visa Fee, IHS and Pre-Departure Costs from India Scroll here ↓ Frequently Asked Questions Scroll here ↓

Total Cost of Studying in UK for Indian Students in 2026-27

Year one of a one-year UK master's costs from £32,600 to £70,704 (₹42.1 to 90.5 lakh with the visa fee). That covers tuition, 12 months of living and the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), the fee for free NHS care once the visa starts. It's more than the visa asks you to show: only 9 months of living.

Master’s courseTuitionLiving, 12 monthsYear-one total (£)Year-one total (₹)
Teesside MSc Computer Science (September or May start)£17,000 (₹21.58 lakh)£14,436 to £18,188 (₹18.3 to 23.1 lakh)£32,600 to £36,352₹42.1 to 46.9 lakh
Leeds MSc Data Science and Analytics£34,600 (₹43.92 lakh)£14,436 to £18,188 (₹18.3 to 23.1 lakh)£50,200 to £53,952₹64.5 to 69.2 lakh
Imperial MSc Computing (London)£48,300 (₹61.31 lakh)£18,840 to £21,240 (₹23.9 to 27.0 lakh)£68,304 to £70,704₹87.4 to 90.5 lakh

Teesside’s January start runs 16 months with a summer break, so add four months’ living and confirm the fee. These totals don’t include your flight or accommodation deposits. The TB test and IELTS fees are listed in the visa section below.

A UK bachelor’s after Class 12 typically runs three years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or four in Scotland, where the fourth year adds fees and living costs. At Teesside the fee is £17,000 a year. Year one comes to £34,152 to £37,524, because the health surcharge for the whole degree, an estimated £2,716, is paid up front with the visa. If you pay living costs for all 12 months of every year, the three years come to an estimated ₹1.24 to 1.37 crore, visa fee included, before any fee rises. The high end assumes £1,484 a month all year; Manchester’s own figure covers a 41-week undergraduate year, £14,840. Manchester’s BSc Computer Science charges more than double Teesside’s fee: £39,700 a year for September 2027 entry.

UK Tuition Fees for Indian Students by University and Course

Your university choice moves the bill more than your city does. Switching from Teesside to Leeds adds £17,600 in fees. Moving to London adds only about £3,050 to £4,400 a year in living costs. Shortlist by fee first; our guide to studying in the UK covers the rest.

Computing and data science make a fair comparison because most UK universities teach them, so here are eight fees, lowest first.

UniversityCourseCityFee (£)Fee (₹)
Teesside UniversityMSc Computer ScienceMiddlesbrough17,00021.58 lakh
Coventry UniversityMSc Data ScienceCoventry19,50024.75 lakh
Sheffield Hallam UniversityMSc Data Science and Artificial IntelligenceSheffield19,53024.79 lakh
University of LeedsMSc Data Science and AnalyticsLeeds34,60043.92 lakh
Queen Mary University of LondonMSc Data ScienceLondon36,95046.90 lakh
King’s College LondonMSc Data ScienceLondon40,45051.35 lakh
The University of ManchesterMSc Advanced Computer ScienceManchester41,40052.55 lakh
Imperial College LondonMSc ComputingLondon48,30061.31 lakh

These are fees for the one-year version of each course. Coventry’s version with a work placement adds a £1,900 fee if you secure a placement, not a second year’s fee. For another fee near Teesside’s, Sunderland’s master’s fees for international students run £16,500 to £19,000 in 2026-27. Fees follow the subject: humanities and social sciences degrees tend to cost the least, while laboratory and clinical degrees tend to cost the most. So a lab science won’t match these computing fees, and an MBA usually costs more than the same university’s MSc, often far more at top business schools. If an MBA is your plan, our breakdown of the cheapest MBA in UK for Indian students compares those fees.

GREAT Scholarships India had 12 postgraduate awards for 2026-27, each worth at least £10,000 towards tuition on a one-year course. The 2027-28 round hadn’t been announced by October 2026. With only 12 awards for all of India, don’t build your budget on winning one. Our list of scholarships to study in UK for Indian students has the other awards you can apply for.

Monthly Living Costs in UK: London vs Outside London

Plan living costs from what universities say their students spend, for all 12 months. The visa asks you to show a smaller sum, for 9 months only; that’s covered in the visa section below. King’s College London puts a postgraduate year in London at about £21,240.

Where you studyWhat students spend a monthA full yearEstimate from
London£1,770 (₹2.25 lakh)£21,240 (₹27.0 lakh)King’s College London, postgraduate
Outside London£1,510 (₹1.92 lakh)£18,188 (₹23.1 lakh)University of Manchester, postgraduate, 52-week year

Manchester’s yearly figure is its own published total, not £1,510 times 12.

What a London month costs (King’s average, 2026-27)Monthly
Accommodation£1,164 (₹1.48 lakh)
Food£167 (₹21,199)
Travel (Tube and bus, Zones 1-4)£173 (₹21,961)
Personal and leisure£266 (₹33,766)
Total£1,770 (₹2.25 lakh)

Depending on how you live, King’s puts a London month anywhere from £1,331 to £2,342.

Budget only the £1,203 the visa asks for and you’ll be short every month in Manchester, where the university’s own postgraduate estimate is £1,510. For more on day-to-day spending, see our UK cost of living guide.

London universities also charge more: three of the five highest fees above are Imperial, King’s and Queen Mary. If London isn’t essential to your course, compare the cheapest cities in UK for students before you choose.

From our counselling desk: The budget gap we see most often is a family saving the 9-month visa figure as the whole year's spend. Save for 12 months, and if you apply on or after 30 November 2026, save at the new monthly rate.

UK Student Visa Fee, IHS and Pre-Departure Costs from India

In 2026, a student on a one-year UK master's pays £1,164 (₹1.48 lakh) in health surcharge, one and a half times the £776 (₹98,505) yearly rate. That's because the visa starts a month before the course and ends about four months after it, roughly 17 months for a 12-month course.

What you pay before you fly

ItemAmountNote
Student visa fee₹73,842 (12 Oct 2026)Already in the totals
IHS (health surcharge)£1,164 (₹1.48 lakh)Already in the totals
TB test certificate₹2,200 to ₹2,800 in Hyderabad (age 11 and over)Valid 6 months from the X-ray
IELTS for UKVI (IDP test fee)₹19,250If your university asks
ATAS (a security check for some science and technology courses)FreeAllow at least 30 working days

The Home Office resets the rupee visa fee weekly, about 4% above the live rate. Budget for the figure its site shows on the day you apply, not £558 (₹70,833) converted.

Money you must show in the bank

The visa also asks you to prove money is in your account: up to 9 months of living costs plus any unpaid first-year tuition. You don’t pay it to anyone. From 30 November 2026 the amount rises. Starting in September 2027? Use the “on or after” column. Starting in January 2027? It depends on the day you apply.

Money to show (living costs)Apply before 30 Nov 2026Apply on or after 30 Nov 2026
London£1,529 a month (₹1.94 lakh); £13,761 for 9 months (₹17.47 lakh)£1,570 a month (₹1.99 lakh); £14,130 for 9 months (₹17.94 lakh)
Outside London£1,171 a month (₹1.49 lakh); £10,539 for 9 months (₹13.38 lakh)£1,203 a month (₹1.53 lakh); £10,827 for 9 months (₹13.74 lakh)

Sending money from India

Parents: if you’re already taking an education loan, send the fees from it. From 1 April 2026, money sent abroad for study from savings carries 2% TCS (tax collected at source), taken by your bank, above ₹10 lakh a year. Savings sent for living costs count towards the same ₹10 lakh. A bank education loan carries none. A non-bank lender’s loan is exempt only if a central government notification names that lender, so ask yours for it. The TCS on savings isn’t lost: it counts as income tax already paid for whoever sent it, and comes off their tax when they file. So it only ties up cash; it’s no reason on its own to borrow.

Two things cut the money you must show. A tuition deposit you’ve paid comes off the tuition part; your CAS (the university’s letter for the visa) lists it. An education loan in the student’s own name needn’t sit in the bank for 28 days, but you need the lender’s letter dated within six months of applying. A loan only in a parent’s name doesn’t qualify. Our UK student visa proof of funds guide covers the other conditions.

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Frequently Asked Questions

No, not for year one of a master’s. Year one of the cheapest course in our totals table, Teesside’s MSc Computer Science, comes to at least ₹42.1 lakh. A GREAT Scholarship (at least £10,000, or ₹12.69 lakh, in 2026-27) closes only part of the gap. ₹20 lakh doesn’t cover even Teesside’s tuition of ₹21.58 lakh.

Apply before 30 November 2026 and you show £10,539 (₹13.38 lakh) outside London or £13,761 (₹17.47 lakh) in London, for 9 months of living. Apply on or after that date and it’s £10,827 (₹13.74 lakh) or £14,130 (₹17.94 lakh). Add unpaid first-year tuition, keep it all for 28 days, and leave a margin for the exchange rate.

It covers living costs, not tuition. Degree students at a university can work 20 hours a week in term time. The National Minimum Wage at 21 and over is £12.71 an hour (₹1,613). That makes £254.20 a week (₹32,268) before tax. Future wages can’t count as visa funds. More on part-time jobs in UK for Indian students.

Choose the university before the city, because tuition swings far more than rent. If you’re already taking an education loan from a bank, send fees from it to avoid the 2% TCS. Watch for the 2027-28 GREAT Scholarships India round, and compare affordable universities in UK for Indian students before you shortlist.

The Graduate visa costs a £937 (₹1.19 lakh) application fee plus a health surcharge, usually £1,035 (₹1.31 lakh) a year. For applications from 1 January 2027 the visa lasts 18 months, and the surcharge is £1,552.50 (₹1.97 lakh). See our post-study work visa in UK guide.

AOEC India has guided Indian students abroad for over 10 years, has helped more than 12,000 students get their visas, and has offices in Hyderabad and Tirupati. Our UK advisers build each family’s budget from the named course fee, the visa money rule on the day you apply, and the cheapest way to send money for your situation.

Sources

Official sources first, then reputable third-party.

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