International student finance
Choosing to study in the UK comes with a lot of financial considerations, including tuition fees and living costs. Here’s everything you need to know about international fees and funding.
How to pay your tuition fees
Your tuition fees will depend on the course you are studying. Get the breakdown of our tuition fees for undergraduates, postgraduates and part-time students.
You are required to pay a minimum of 50% of your tuition fee in advance before you can complete your enrolment. Enrolment is the process you need to complete in order to become an official Kingston University student.
Payment options for international students
You can choose to pay your tuition fee in one of the following ways.
You can find more information and FAQs about paying your fees on the central Fees and Funding hub page.
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 before online enrolment:
- Pay a minimum of 50% of your tuition fee for the year in advance.
- Sign up to a payment. 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].
Budgeting for a Student Route Visa
As an international student, you should budget for your Student Route visa, which will allow you to live and study in the UK for the duration of your course. You can find out more about applying for your visa on our visas, CAS and immigration page.
UK Visa and Immigration requires that you must prove you have a minimum budget per month to study in London for one academic year (9 months). This amount excludes tuition fee costs and any dependents (which require you to show additional proof of funds).
We strongly advise you to plan a budget which ensures you have sufficient funds which will cover more than just the first few months when you arrive in the UK. You should also include a budget for additional unexpected costs and expenses.
The costs
- £490 for your UK student visa, which will allow you to live and study in the UK throughout your course (this is a one-off charge)
- £776 for your Immigration Health Surcharge per year, which will give you access to the National Health Service in the UK – this is the cost after the 25% discount for student visa holders
Deposit for eligible postgraduate students
All postgraduate taught (Master’s) applicants - excluding Masters by Research (MPhil/PhD) - who require a Student Visa must pay a non-refundable deposit of £5,000 within 21 working days of confirming their unconditional offer. This deposit must be paid before requesting a CAS and will be applied toward the first instalment of tuition fees.
The payment will be recorded on the CAS letter under the 'Fees paid to date' section. When submitting financial documents for your visa application, the amount already paid can be deducted from the total funds required.
You are exempt from this deposit if you provide evidence that an official financial sponsor or student loan covers your first-year tuition fees and full living expenses (£13,347).
Please note that if your scholarship or loan does not fully cover the fees required for your visa application, the deposit will still be necessary. It will contribute toward the total funds needed for your application.
FAQs
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).
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, you have 21 working days to pay the £5,000 deposit to confirm your place.
For any deposits paid after 21 working days, places will be reviewed subject to course vacancies.
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.
You should pay the deposit within 21 working days of confirming your unconditional offer.
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.
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 payment will only be refunded in the following circumstances:
- If you don't receive your Student Visa for reasons the University considers were beyond your control and you can provide sufficient documentary evidence.
- If your CAS is withdrawn for any reason other than, where it is confirmed that fraud has taken place.
- A visa refusal is successfully appealed, but it is too late for the applicant to start their studies at Kingston University on time.
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.
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.
Both the payment of the first 50% of your fee and the setting up of the payment plan must have been completed in advance of enrolment. We recommend you pay the first 50% of your fee as soon as possible. You will be notified when the option to set up a payment plan for the second 50% is available to set up.
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.
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.
Your fees will need to be paid in full prior to enrolment, unless you opt to set up a payment plan.
Payment plans need to be set up in the University Payment Portal before you enrol. You are required to pay a minimum of 50% of your fee before enrolment begins.
If you opt to set up a payment plan, we strongly recommend doing so as soon as possible and before you travel to the UK. This will prevent your enrolment being delayed.
Ways to save money
We know that living in a different country, especially as a student, can be expensive. If you decide to choose the UK, and specifically, London as your study destination, it is important to be prepared for the costs of living here and to plan your student budget accordingly.
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.
How we can help
We recognise that the rising cost of living in London can make students feel uncertain about their finances. You can read about useful resources, hear from some of our current students and learn more about the support available to Kingston University students on our cost of living support pages.
Alternatively, we can offer confidential one-to-one advice and information on budgeting and money management. And if you do run into problems and end up owing us any money, we'll make sure we get in touch with you as soon as possible to help you get it sorted.
Finally, if you have any financial difficulties while you're at Kingston University, we'll do everything we can to help and support you.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about our fees and funding, please contact our student life advisers for more information.
