International student finance

Single Payment - pay your full fee in advance for the year before enrolment

You can pay your tuition fees via the University Payment Portal. It provides a simple, secure, and quick way to make a payment with a UK card or in your local currency, without incurring any additional merchant/service charges.

Instalments - pay a minimum of 50% of your fee in advance and the remainder by instalment

If you choose to pay by instalment you must complete the following two-step process on the University Payment Portal:

1. Pay a minimum of 50% of your tuition fee for the year in advance. 
2. Sign up to a payment plan. This can be done using a UK or international issued card and authorises the University to take a further payment for your remaining fee on the agreed date (see more information on instalment dates on the fees and funding page).

If an embassy or your employer are paying for all or part of your tuition fee we refer to them as your sponsor. You will need to notify us of this before online enrolment, so we can invoice them for the appropriate amount. This can be done by completing a Sponsorship Agreement Form (PDF) and uploading a copy to our Online Student Information System (OSIS).

If you are funding your course using a Federal Direct Subsidised/Unsubsidised and/or PLUS loan, contact the student funding team for information about payment of tuition fees by emailing [email protected].

All postgraduate taught (masters) applicants who require a Student Visa must pay a £5,000 deposit to confirm their place and be issued with their Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).

The deposit is treated as part of the first instalment of your tuition fee.

Deposit payment exclusions

You are not required to pay the deposit if:

• you are a Masters by Research, MPhil, or PhD student;
• you are an undergraduate student;
• you do not require a Student Visa to study at Kingston University;
• your studies are being sponsored by your government or a company (evidence of your sponsorship must be provided); or
• you are receiving funding/a student loan from Lånekassen, US Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program (CSFA Program) (evidence must be provided);
• you are receiving a student loan from a regulated student loan scheme (evidence of your student loan for the full fee amount must be provided).
• you are receiving a loan from Prodigy Finance, covering full fees and all living expenses.

If you have a conditional offer, please send us your results as soon as you can. You can upload copies of your results through the Online Student Information System (OSIS).

Once we have checked that you have met the conditions of your offer, you will receive an unconditional offer. Once you have accepted the unconditional offer as firm, we advise you to pay the £5,000 deposit as soon as possible, as we cannot send your final CAS to you until we receive it. Please see the relevant deadlines.

Payment should be made using the University Payment Portal, where we offer the widest range of payment methods. 

You can pay using UK and International cards, a bank transfer, overseas local currency or e-wallets.

Please view our International Admissions Timeline webpage to see the relevant deadlines.

We will only issue your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) once we have received your deposit. If you don’t think that you can make payment before the CAS request deadline, please get in touch with the CAS team to discuss your situation.

If you have personally paid the deposit through our Payment Portal, you will be emailed a payment receipt.

If the payment has been made on your behalf by a third party and they have used their own email address, they will receive the receipt. However, you can request a receipt via the Student HUB or find the transaction history in the Payment Portal.

Your fees will need to be paid in full prior to enrolment, unless you opt to pay by instalment.

If you intend to pay by instalment, you are required to pay a minimum of 50% of your fee before enrolment begins. After enrolment you will be able to set up a payment plan in the University Payment Portal which will allow you to defer payment of the second 50% of your fee.

If you would prefer not to pay your full tuition fee prior to enrolment (provided you have paid a minimum of 50%), you can set up a payment plan in the Kingston University Payment Portal. This will enable you to pay the remaining 50% at a later date. 

Once you have completed your enrolment you will receive an invoice for the full cost of your annual tuition fee along with a notification that you are able to set up a payment plan in the University Payment Portal for the remaining balance outstanding.

This is based on the start of your course. For courses starting in September, the second instalment of 50% is due the following January. For courses starting in January, the second instalment is due in May, and for courses starting in March, the second instalment is due in July.

More detailed information on instalment plan set up and payment dates is available in the Money Matters Booklets on our payments options page.

The £5,000 deposit is fully refundable anytime up until the point that you have been issued a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).

The £5,000 deposit payment is non-refundable once a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) has been issued to you.

Once a CAS has been issued, the £5,000 deposit is generally non-refundable. A refund will only be considered at the University’s sole discretion in the following circumstances:

• Visa Refusal: Your visa is refused for reasons the University deems beyond your control, supported by verifiable evidence.
• Late Appeal Decision: Your refusal is successfully overturned, but the decision arrives after the final enrolment deadline for your intake.

Please note that all approved refunds will be subject to a deduction of a £250 administration fee. In any case where a refund is not approved, your payment will be automatically deferred to the next available intake.

To request a refund, you must do this by email.

If you have been issued with a CAS, appeals for refunds must be made within three months of the start date specified on your CAS and include documentary evidence to support your case.

Refunds may be considered at the University's sole discretion.

All refunds will be paid to the original payee by the same method that the payment was made.

If you have paid more than the required £5,000, you can request to have the additional monies refunded. Refunds for withdrawals that incur no fee liability will be less the £5,000 tuition fee deposit paid.

The refund policy is 28 days from the date of receipt of the refund request and the appropriate supporting documentation.

You are required to pay the £5,000 deposit unless you fall into one of the deposit payment exclusion categories.

Deposits are held for a maximum of two years, during which time you are expected to register with the University.

If you defer your study to a later academic session (within the 2-year period), the deposit may be transferred to the new intake. After two years, the deposit will be non-transferrable and non-refundable and will be retained by the University.

We have more details on tuition and accommodation fee payments, instalment plans and other financial information, in our Money Matters Guides. 

You can find these guides, as well as our Payment Portal, on our payment options page.

If we offer you a place to study with us, you'll be eligible to apply for one of our £5,000 international scholarships for the September or January intake. You may also qualify for one of our bursaries, including our family bursary for students with a direct family connection to a current study at Kingston University, or alumni discounts. 

Kingston is a large town, packed with shops and businesses, and many of our international students get a part-time job. This will help you manage some of your living costs and provide valuable work experience. 

If you do plan to work while you study, you must check the permissions set out in your visa, as the right to work will depend on the type of visa you have been granted. Find out more on our working in the UK page.

Becoming one of our Student Ambassadors is a great way to 'earn while you learn' and meet other students. You can get involved and support the University, gain employability skills and experience, and enjoy flexible, part-time, paid employment to fit around your studies.

If you haven’t lived in the UK before, we recommend researching average costs for common bills and activities. Planning ahead will help to simplify your finance management when you arrive in Kingston. 

A few useful costs to consider include: 

• Average monthly living costs for undergraduate students on campus: £1128-2962
• Average monthly living costs for postgraduate students on campus: £1145-3007
• Average monthly living costs in private accommodation: £1310-2290

Learn more about the cost of living and available support.