Immigration Health Surcharge UK: What Applicants Must Pay

The immigration health surcharge (IHS) is a mandatory fee you pay as part of most UK visa applications, including the Student visa. It is charged in addition to the visa application fee and is paid per person, including any dependants who apply with you. The amount you pay depends on how long your visa lasts, and the exact rate is set by the Home Office and published on GOV.UK. You should check the official IHS page before applying, because the rate can change and the official guidance for this article does not state the current pound amount.

What the immigration health surcharge is

The immigration health surcharge is a fee that most people applying to come to or stay in the UK on a visa must pay. It gives you access to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) while you are in the country, in the same way that a UK resident can use NHS services. It is not a substitute for private health insurance, and it does not cover every type of healthcare. The surcharge is collected as part of the visa application process, not separately.

For a Student visa, the surcharge is explicitly listed as something you “will also have to pay as part of your application”. The GOV.UK Student visa overview states: “You’ll also have to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of your application. How much you pay depends on how long your visa lasts.”

The surcharge applies to each person included in the application. If you bring a partner or children as dependants, each of them must pay the surcharge as well. The GOV.UK page for switching to a Student visa from inside the UK confirms this: “For each person, you’ll need to pay: £558 to switch to this visa, the healthcare surcharge.”

How much the surcharge is

The official guidance does not give a specific pound amount for the immigration health surcharge. It states only that the amount depends on how long your visa lasts. This is a deliberate gap: the rate is set by the Home Office and can change, and the official guidance pages referenced here do not list the current figure.

You must therefore check the current rate on the official GOV.UK immigration health surcharge page before you apply. That page is the authoritative source for the amount you will pay. Do not rely on figures you may have seen elsewhere, including on forums, social media, or third-party websites, because the rate has changed in the past and may change again.

Item	What the official guidance says
Visa application fee (Student visa, outside UK)	£558
Visa application fee (extend or switch, inside UK)	£558
Immigration health surcharge	Amount depends on visa length; exact rate not stated in official guidance
Surcharge per dependant	Yes, each person pays
Faster decision fee	Available in some cases; amount not stated

The table above shows what the official guidance confirms. The visa fee is stated as £558 for both applying from outside and extending or switching from inside the UK. The surcharge amount is not given, which is why you must verify it separately.

When you pay the surcharge

You pay the immigration health surcharge at the same time as you submit your visa application. It is not a separate application you make later. For a Student visa, the GOV.UK guidance places the surcharge within the application process, alongside the visa fee.

If you are switching to a Student visa from inside the UK, the same rule applies. The GOV.UK switch page lists the surcharge as one of the payments you must make “for each person”. You cannot pay it after your application is submitted; it is part of the initial payment.

If you are applying from outside the UK, you will pay the surcharge as part of the online application. If you are applying from inside the UK, you will also pay it as part of the online application. In both cases, the surcharge is calculated based on the length of the visa you are applying for.

What the surcharge covers

The official guidance does not describe in detail what the immigration health surcharge covers. It states only that you must pay it as part of your application and that the amount depends on how long your visa lasts. The GOV.UK Student visa pages do not list specific NHS services that are or are not covered.

You should therefore treat the surcharge as a general contribution to the cost of NHS healthcare, not as a comprehensive health insurance policy. If you need to know exactly what is covered, check the official immigration health surcharge guidance on GOV.UK, which explains the scope of NHS access for surcharge payers.

Exemptions and refunds

The official guidance does not mention any exemptions from the immigration health surcharge. It does not state who does not have to pay it, and it does not describe any circumstances in which you might be exempt. It also does not describe a refund process for the surcharge.

The only refund-related information in the official guidance concerns the visa application fee, not the surcharge. The GOV.UK switch page states: “You can ask to withdraw your application by contacting UKVI. Your fee will only be refunded if UKVI has not started processing your application.” This refers to the visa fee, not the immigration health surcharge.

If you believe you may be exempt from the surcharge, or if you think you are owed a refund, you must check the official immigration health surcharge guidance on GOV.UK. The official guidance for this article does not provide the information you would need to make that assessment.

How the surcharge relates to your visa decision

Paying the immigration health surcharge is a condition of your application being complete. If you do not pay it, your application will not be processed. The surcharge is separate from the visa fee, and both must be paid before the Home Office can consider your application.

The surcharge does not affect the outcome of your application in terms of whether you meet the eligibility requirements. It is a payment, not a test of your circumstances. However, if you do not pay it, your application will not proceed, which effectively means you will not get a visa.

For a Student visa, the eligibility requirements are that you are 16 or over, have been offered a place on a course by a licensed student sponsor, have enough money to support yourself and pay for your course, can speak, read, write and understand English, and have consent from your parents if you are 16 or 17. The surcharge is an additional payment requirement, not one of these eligibility criteria.

What to do next

Before you apply for a Student visa, you should do the following:

1. Check the current immigration health surcharge rate on the official GOV.UK page. The official guidance does not give the amount, so you must verify it yourself.
2. Calculate the total cost of your application: the £558 visa fee plus the surcharge for each person applying.
3. Check whether any dependants will be joining you, because each of them must pay the surcharge as well.
4. Confirm how long your visa will last, because the surcharge amount depends on the visa length.
5. Check the official guidance for any exemptions that might apply to you.

The GOV.UK Student visa overview page is the starting point for understanding the visa requirements. The immigration health surcharge page is the authoritative source for the current rate. Do not rely on any figure that is not published on GOV.UK.