As an international student, it’s vital that you organise your finances and have your funding in place for tuition fees, study costs and living expenses well in advance of your course start date and before you arrive in the UK.
The UKVI/Home Office will only give you permission to enter the country, or extend your existing visa, if you can show that you have the required funds to cover your annual course tuition fee and your maintenance and living costs up front when you apply for your student visa. In addition, you will need a CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance of Study) to make your student visa application and normally, the University will want to see proof that you have the correct level of money needed for your student visa application in the correct format before issuing you with a CAS. If you are starting a new course, normally, a CAS will also only be issued once you have made a £4000 deposit towards your course tuition fee.
For information about making a student visa application and the requirements you must meet, visit our Visa pages.
For information about fee deposits, visit the international student deposits page.
For more information about general living costs in London, visit our Affordable London page.
Tuition fees
Our tuition fees vary depending on the level of study, subject and study options, and are subject to annual change. Your fee status depends on where you were living and what you were doing prior to studying at Westminster, as well as your nationality. All undergraduate courses and some of our postgraduate courses have Home and Overseas tuition fee levels. Every applicant is assessed to find out which they should pay.
Most Home fee payers are residents of UK and other countries in the European Union. Most Overseas fee-payers are from outside of the European Union.
Will my fee status be Home or Overseas?
The University Admissions team use the information you provide when you apply for your course to work out if you should pay Home or Overseas fees. The criteria we use for assessing your fee status are set by the UK government. You can get more information on your fee status by visiting the UK Council for International Student Affairs.
Visit our central Fees page for details of our course fees.
University of Westminster scholarships
The University of Westminster offers a generous scholarship scheme for international students.
Our scholarships are normally awarded based on three criteria: academic excellence, development potential and financial need. Competition is high for our scholarships and we receive many more applications than we can fund, so please do not rely on receiving a scholarship to fund your studies and do ensure you have other financial options available.
For full details of our scholarships, visit our scholarships pages.
Please be aware that you must have accepted an offer of a place at the University before you can apply for any of our scholarships.
Other funding options
UK funding options for undergraduate are extremely limited and we strongly advise you to research options available in your home country.
The most popular schemes available for international postgraduate students are:
- Chevening awards
- Marshall Scholarships
- Commonwealth Scholarships
- GREAT Scholarships
- Fullbright Awards Programme
- ISH Hardship Fund (current students only)
For British Council information about scholarships and funding, please visit the British Council website.
For general information on international student funding and budgeting, please visit the UKCISA website or the Save the Student website.
US federal loans
US students interested in applying for Federal Student Aid will find more information on our US loans page.
Visas
If you are coming to study a course of six months or longer, you must apply for a Student Visa from your home country before travelling to the UK.
If you are coming on a course of less than six months with no work or internship, you may be able to apply for a Standard Visit Visa.
More information about student and Standard Visit visas and application procedures can be found on our visa pages and on UKCISA. The Gov.uk website also has information on short-term study visas and student visas.
Working in the UK during your course
Working part-time during your studies can provide much-needed extra income, as well as valuable work experience and skills development. But when planning your finances, bear in mind that you cannot rely on earnings from work to cover all your costs and you cannot rely on this income as proof of funds for a student visa application.
If you are in the UK on a student visa and you are attending a degree level course, you will normally have permission to work up to 20 hours per week during term time and full-time during course vacations. This includes paid or unpaid work.
If you have a student visa issued to attend a pre-sessional course only, you cannot work more than 10 hours per week in paid or unpaid work.
Your student visa should specify the maximum number of working hours allowed. Check the work condition on your visa as soon as you get it. If you think it is wrong, contact Student Advice immediately for information about how to get it corrected.
If you have a short-term study visa, you are not allowed to do any work at all, paid or unpaid.
For more information on working while you're here, visit UKCISA or contact Student Advice.
Working in the UK after your course ends
You may be able to apply for the Graduate Route Visa once you have successfully completed your course. You can also consider applying for the Skilled Worker Visa if you have a job offer and the employer is able to sponsor you. The Government Authorised Exchange visa is useful if you want to stay in the UK to do a period of work experience, internship, or a short period of training. Another option may be the Youth Mobility Scheme if you are ineligible for visas above.
Visit the UKCISA website for more details about the various options, or contact Student Advice.
Living costs
Before coming to the UK, you must organise your money to ensure you have enough for the length of your course - working part-time when you get here will not provide enough money to fund your studies and your living costs. You'll also need to investigate the best ways to transfer money into the UK. The visa requirements stipulate certain amounts that you'll need before you can get a visa to come to the UK. For example, you need a minimum of £1,334 living expenses for each month of study for a maximum of nine months.
In addition to tuition fees, you will need to factor in your living costs for your time with us. This will typically include the costs of accommodation, travel, food and drink, social activities, etc. If you are applying for an international student visa you will need to show that in addition to your course fees, you also have enough money to cover these living costs. Bear in mind that London is an expensive city and don’t underestimate costs. For detailed information about the financial requirements when applying for a student visa, please visit our financial requirements page.
Visit our Affordable London living costs page for more information.
Council Tax liability
Council Tax is set by local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales to pay for local services that they provide, such as rubbish collection, the police and the fire brigade. It is based on the value of the house, flat or other accommodation. There are normally called 'dwellings'.
Whether you pay Council Tax depends on your circumstances, who you live with and what type of accommodation you live in. You do not normally have to pay while living in Student halls.
If you study part-time, your student status will not exempt you and you could be liable to pay Council Tax.
If you study full–time and rent private accommodation and your tenancy starts before your course begins, you will be liable to pay the Council Tax from the date your tenancy begins up until the start your full-time degree level course. This includes any time spent attending the pre-sessional English Language course as this is a short course and does not exempt you from paying. From the start of your full-time degree level course onwards, you should be exempt from paying because you are a full-time student but once your course ends, you become liable to pay the Council Tax again.
Read our Council Tax information about who is liable or visit the Students and Council Tax page at Gov.uk.