The exact amount you pay depends on the length of the visa you’re given.
A visa may last longer than your course of study or period of employment.
Cost for a year
You’ll have to pay:
- £776 per year for students, their dependants, and those on a Youth Mobility Scheme visa, for example £1,552 for a 2-year visa
- £776 per year for visa and immigration applicants who are under the age of 18 at time of application
- £1,035 per year for all other visa and immigration applications, for example £3,105 for a 3-year visa
Cost for part of a year
The amount you have to pay depends on the length of the visa you’re given and where you apply from.
6 months or less
You do not need to pay the surcharge if you’re applying from outside the UK for 6 months or less.
If you’re applying from inside the UK, you’ll have to pay half the yearly cost. For example:
- £388 for students, their dependants, Youth Mobility Scheme or under-18 applications
- £517.50 for any other application
More than 6 months but less than one year
Wherever you apply from, you’ll have to pay the cost of a full year.
Cost for more than one year
If your visa is for more than a year, you’ll have to pay:
- the yearly cost plus half the yearly cost, if it’s for 18 months or less
- the cost of 2 full years, if it’s for more than 18 months but less than 2 years
Paying for dependants
Dependants aged 18 or over usually need to pay the same amount as you.
The exact amount you pay depends on the length of the visa you’re given, which may last longer than your course of study or period of employment.
Refunds
You’ll automatically get a partial refund if you paid the healthcare surcharge for more years than you were granted leave.
When you must pay
If you apply for a visa online, you pay the surcharge as part of the application.
If you apply for a visa by post, you must pay the surcharge online before you send your application. You’ll need to include your IHS reference number on the application form.
If you do not pay
You’ll get an email from UK Visas and Immigration if you do not pay the surcharge (or do not pay enough) as part of your visa or immigration application.
Check your junk folder if you cannot see the email in your inbox.
Once you get the email, you must pay the surcharge within:
- 10 working days if you’re inside the UK
- 7 working days if you’re outside the UK
GEC
buhasna
Study visa and dependents: £776 per year
elliy
This must be paid as an online payment during the Visa application process, allowing use of the NHS (UK National Health Service).
tushi
Having a clear idea about UK healthcare payments helps to manage future plans well.
ihonn
It’s very important to know clearly about UK healthcare payments. This detail was helpful to me in managing future plans well. Do you all have any thoughts about this too?
gihan
How much is the IHS fee when applying for a student visa?
kothis
It’s important to know about the IHS fee when applying for a student visa. This is an important part of the entire visa process. Do you guys have a clear idea about this payment?
lissy
How is the total surcharge calculated according to your course duration?
unushod
“It’s important to know how the surcharge is calculated based on the course duration. Since this directly affects the total payment when applying for a visa, students need to have a clear idea about this. How did you all find out about this calculation?”
himaru
Student visa apply කරන අයට healthcare payments ගැන මේ guide එක ගොඩක් useful
priyadarshana
Student visa apply කරන අයට healthcare payments ගැන මේ guide එක ගොඩක් useful. Practical details දැනගන්න එක future plans manage කරන්නත් easy වෙනවා. ඔබලාටත් මේ guide එක helpful වුණාද
hirusha
මෙකේ තියෙන විස්තර බලද්දි, UK student visa එකට apply කරනකොට healthcare surcharge එක ගෙවන්න වෙන එක ගැන හොඳට පැහැදිලි කරලා තියෙනවා. 🎓
piyasad
ow😊
sujee
Is this true?
nuvini
yes
boyagoda
Dependentsටත් surcharge එක ගෙවන්න වෙනවා කියලා තියෙනවා. මේක family එකට එකට ගෙවන්න පුළුවන්ද?
bopitiya
ඔයාගෙ ප්රශ්නයට සෘජුවම පිළිතුරු දෙන්නම්: Dependents (family members) ටත් healthcare surcharge එක ගෙවන්න වෙනවා. ඒත් මේක family එකට එකට package එකක් විදිහට ගෙවන්න පුළුවන් නෑ. සෑම application එකකටම (student, spouse, child) වෙන වෙනම surcharge එක ගෙවන්න වෙනවා. Visa application online දාද්දි, dependents එක්ක apply කරනවා නම් ඔවුන්ගේ surcharge එකත් එකම process එකේදී ගෙවන්න වෙනවා. ඒක family එකට එකම receipt එකක් විදිහට පේනත්, technically සෑම අයෙක්ටම වෙන වෙනම ගෙවීමක් ලෙසයි ගණන් වෙන්නේ
gimhana
ඇත්තටම වැදගත් info එකක් UK healthcare payment ගැන මේකෙන් හොඳටම පැහැදිලි වෙලා. ඉගෙනගන්න යන අයට future plans හොඳට manage කරන්න පුළුවන්
chamath senarath
UK healthcare surcharge payment ගැන මේ article එකෙන් වැදගත් info එක හොඳටම පැහැදිලි වෙලා. ඉගෙනගන්න යන අයට future plans manage කරන්න easy වෙයි කියලා හිතනවා. Practical clarity එකක් දෙන එකට thanks😘
hansi
This is a super clear explanation. With this info, getting the UK healthcare surcharge becomes easy
ahamad roy
This explanation is super clear. Because of this info, paying the UK healthcare surcharge has become easy. I think we can manage everything for future plans without any hassle.
mishel
I’m happy to see such a detailed article. It was helpful to clearly understand about the health surcharge that needs to be paid for studies in the UK.
eshadi
I’m also really happy to see this detailed article. I was able to get a clear understanding about the health surcharge that needs to be paid for UK studies. This is helpful for managing future plans well.
yohani
Useful info! දැන් plan කරන්න easy 😊
thekshan saubgya
Yes, that’s true
ushil
It’s awesome that they clearly provide the healthcare costs when applying for a UK student visa. It helps manage future plans 😍
dimuth
It’s awesome that healthcare costs are clearly stated when applying for a UK student visa. This info also serves as good support for managing future plans. I think I’ve gained some practical clarity😊😊
runmesh
Visa එක 6 months ට අඩු නම් surcharge ගෙවන්න ඕනේද?”
hishaniya
Visa එක 6 months ට අඩු නම් healthcare surcharge ගෙවන්න ඕනේ නෑ. 6 months ට වැඩි visa applications වලට තමයි surcharge apply වෙන්නේ. මේක හොඳටම clear කරලා තියෙන එක useful
teshmi
Do dependents have to pay fees for students’ wages?
lochana gunasinha
Dependents don’t need to pay students’ wage fees. They only need to pay the healthcare surcharge. If applying with dependents in the visa application, their surcharge also needs to be paid in the same process
yashmitha
මෙහෙම clear breakdown එකක් දාපු එකට ගොඩක් ස්තුතියි.😍
puyumali
මෙහෙම clear breakdown එකක් දාපු එකට ගොඩක් ස්තුතියි. UK healthcare surcharge payment ගැන doubt එකක් නැතිව practical clarity එකක් ගන්න පුළුවන් වුනා. Future plans manage කරන්නත් easy වෙයි කියලා හිතනවා
sapna
ඇත්තටම මේ healthcare payment ගැන හොඳටම idea එකක් ගන්න ලැබුණා. ඉස්සරහට visa apply කරනකොට tension එක අඩු වෙයි.
minoli
ඇත්තටම මේ healthcare payment ගැන හොඳටම idea එකක් ගන්න ලැබුණා. ඉස්සරහට visa apply කරනකොට tension එක අඩු වෙයි කියලා හිතනවා. Clear explanation එකක් දීලා තියෙන එකට thanks
sigithi
Visa apply karanna kalin healthcare surcharge ekata clear idea thiyenawa kiyala hithuwama relax wenawa 💕
resadi
ow eka aththa👌
jisiy
How do I calculate the surcharge payment for an 18-month visa?
konara
The way the surcharge is calculated if the visa is for 18 months is as follows:
Students and dependents have to pay £776 per year.
For 18 months (which is 1.5 years), you have to pay for 1 year (£776) + half year (£388).
Total: £1,164 surcharge payment
batagoda
Refund process eka automatic da, nathnam apply karanna one da?
madha
Refund process eka automatic da? Nathnam api apply karanna one da kiyala mata therenna one. Please clarify karanna
piddey
Do you know the method to pay the surcharge when applying for a visa online?
jigath
When applying for a visa online, the healthcare surcharge is paid as part of the application process itself. You have to pay the surcharge through the card payment system when submitting the visa form. Those applying by post need to pay the surcharge online and include the IHS reference number on the form.
lilen
Is this the same payment for dependents too
mishadhini
The healthcare surcharge payment that applies to dependents in the same way. If a separate payment is made for it, an IHS reference number is generated in the application process.
nimmi
8 months visa එකට exact payment amount එක කොච්චර වෙයි?
bimsara
8 months visa එකට healthcare surcharge ගෙවීමේ නියමය අනුව, 6 months ට වැඩි නමුත් 1 year ට අඩු visa සඳහා පූර්ණ වසරකට ගෙවන්න වෙනවා. ඒ කියන්නේ student visa applicants සහ dependents සඳහා £776 ගෙවන්න වෙනවා.
duggy
What are the methods to pay the surcharge when applying for a visa online
thakshi
The way to pay the healthcare surcharge when you apply for a visa online is simple. You have to pay the surcharge through the online payment system at the time you submit the visa application. They use secure online methods like card payment (Visa/Mastercard/Debit/Credit). If you’re submitting a postal application, you have to pay the surcharge online and include the IHS reference number in the form
jithmi
Visa එක 18 months ටිකක් නම් surcharge ගෙවන්නේ කොහොමද?
jithmi
Under 18 applicantsට ගෙවන්න වෙන මුදල් adults ට වඩා අඩුද?
anney
It’s good to have practical examples; that way one can also figure out the amount of money to pay.
himaya
Visa duration එක 6 months නම් surcharge ගෙවන්නේ කොච්චරද?
nawod
Visa duration එක 6 months නම් Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) ගෙවීමේ ගාස්තුව £470ක්. මේක student visa applicants සඳහා නියමිත standard rate එක. Visa application එක submit කරන වෙලාවේ online card payment system එකෙන් ගෙවලා IHS reference number එක ලබාගන්න වෙනවා
umiyar
How much time does the refund process normally take
jodisha
Normally, Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) refund process takes around 6 weeks after your visa application is refused, withdrawn, or shortened. Refunds are processed automatically to the same card/account used for payment, but sometimes it can take a little longer depending on bank procedures.
vimuth
Visa duration එකට match වෙලා ගෙවන්න වෙන amount එක ගොඩක් understandable.
dinesha
Visa duration එකට match වෙලා surcharge amount ගෙවන්න වෙන එක ගොඩක් understandable. Studentsට තමන්ගේ visa period එකට අනුව ගෙවන්න වෙන ගාස්තුව හොඳටම clear වෙලා practical guidance එකක් ලැබෙනවා
tinki
I found out that you can use the NHS service – valuable
himiru
It was very valuable to learn that you can use NHS services after paying the visa surcharge. This allows students to access UK healthcare facilities free of charge.
ovindi
Visa duration එක 9 months නම් surcharge ගෙවන්නේ කොච්චරද
bopitiya
Visa duration එක 9 months නම් surcharge ගෙවන්නේ £776.
එහෙම වෙන්නේ, 6 months ට වැඩි නමුත් 1 year ට අඩු visa applications සඳහා පූර්ණ වසරකට ගෙවීම apply වෙන නිසා. ඒක student visa applicants සහ dependents දෙදෙනාටම එකම නියමයයි
pijee
This article is a must-read for those applying for visas
hendri
People applying for UK student visas must read this article. You can clearly learn about healthcare payments. There are important information when applying.
hetty
Do applicants under 18 get a lower payment than adults?
bothish
Under 18 visa applicants pay a lower healthcare surcharge than adults (£776 per year). This is a big relief for parents.
oshan
UK student visa ගැන මේකේ දීපු විස්තර හොඳට පැහැදිලිව තියෙනවා 👍
anuhas
yes😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
suraj
“This letter gave me a lot of information about the money that needs to be paid for the healthcare surcharge.
loyla
Students-targeted: “Students who apply for visas can get a clear idea about healthcare surcharge payments from this article.”
pushni
UK student life ගැන practical tips දීලා තියෙන එක හොඳයි.
kamal
Yes, that’s trueeeee
pooja
When applying for a UK student visa, do I need to have a sponsor?
narada
Do I need a sponsor for a UK student visa? I don’t know that, but they say you need a sponsor anyway. Can you clarify this for someone like me who is doing the visa application process?
nehani
Is it always OK to pay the healthcare surcharge through online payment?
dolliy
I think it’s possible to make the online payment for the healthcare surcharge when applying for a UK student visa. Is that available at all times? If you know that, can you also explain what the safest payment method is?
chathu
“How much time does the refund process normally take?”
koshi
“Can’t you tell me about your experience with something like taking one period tablet every month?”
thusith jeh
Visa apply කරනකොට surcharge payment method එකක් තියෙනවද, card එකෙන් විතරද
vindya kumari
වීසා ඇප්ලයි කරද්දී හෙල්ත්කෙයාර් සර්චාර්ජ් ගන්නා payment method එකක් තියෙනවද කියලා මට හිතෙනවා. Card payment එකමද, නැත්නම් තව options තියෙනවද කියලා ඔයාගේ experience එක share කරන්න පුළුවන් කෙනෙක් ඉන්නවද?😊
jithmi
Do dependents pay the same surcharge amount as student visa holders
hurnum tesh
When applying for a UK student visa with dependents, is the healthcare surcharge charged to the student the same amount as for one person
piyumi
Studentsට ගෙවන්න වෙන මුදල් adults ට වඩා අඩු කියන එක හොඳ info එකක්
sanka jayaneth
UK student visa apply karaddi healthcare surcharge ganna dependents laṭa student la wage ekama amount ekak gannawada? Oyala dannawada students laṭa adults laṭa wage difference ekak thiyenawada kiyala share karanna puluwan kenek innawada?
flayor
It’s very useful that if the visa is less than 6 months, you don’t have to pay a surcharge.
umari
“They told me that if the visa period is more than 6 months, I have to pay the healthcare surcharge. That’s really useful info. Can you tell me if this applies to all similar situations
jeneey
It’s very helpful that the refund process is automatic.
nadunika
“They told me that if the visa period is more than 6 months, I have to pay the healthcare surcharge. That’s really useful info. Can you tell me if this applies to my situation as well?
jeevani
මේක කියවලා දැන් NHS service use කරන්න හැම එකේම payment structure එක හොඳටම තේරෙනවා.
kulathunga
ඔව්, මේ article එකෙන් NHS service use කරන්න හැම visa applicant එකටම ගෙවන්න වෙන payment structure එක හොඳටම පැහැදිලි වෙලා තියෙනවා. Practical examples දාපු එක නිසා studentsට තමන්ගේ visa duration එකට match වෙලා ගෙවන්න වෙන ගාස්තුව හොඳටම තේරෙනවා. Future plans manage කරන්නත් easy වෙයි කියලා හිතනවා
vindya
Having a lower payment for applicants under 18 is a great relief for parents
dosi
This is actually a great protection and support for parents. 👨👩👧👦 By reducing the fees that must be paid when applicants are under 18 years old, the financial burden on families is reduced.
hams jeh
Is the refund process automatic, or do I have to apply?
jodha
ආපසු ගෙවීම ස්වයංක්රීයව සිදු වෙනවාද, නැත්නම් අපිම අයදුම් කරන්න ඕනේද කියලා පැහැදිලි කළා නම් හොඳයි
visal
Refund process එක normally කොච්චර කාලයක් ගන්නවාද?
mayonika
Refund process එක සාමාන්යයෙන් සති 6ක් පමණ ගන්නවා. 💡 Visa application එක refuse, withdraw හෝ shorten වුනාම Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) refund එක ස්වයංක්රීයව ඔබ ගෙවූ card/account එකටම යවයි. කෙසේ වෙතත්, bank procedures අනුව සමහර වෙලාවට ටිකක් වැඩි කාලයක් ගන්න පුළුවන්
jithma
Visa apply කරනකොට healthcare surcharge ගැන මේකෙන් ගොඩක් clear idea එකක් ගන්න ලැබුණා😊😊😊
sapumali
Visa apply කරනකොට healthcare surcharge ගැන මේ article එකෙන් ගොඩක් clear idea එකක් ගන්න ලැබුණා. Practical breakdown එකක් දීලා තියෙන නිසා future plans manage කරන්නත් easy වෙයි කියලා හිතනවා. ඔබලාටත් මේකෙන් doubt එකක් නැතිව පැහැදිලි info එකක් ගන්න ලැබුණාද😊
yuthmi
It’s super helpful to have practical examples of the amount to pay that matches the visa duration.
jihari
“Yes, the practical example you gave that matches the visa duration is very useful. Having clear examples where the amount matches the duration makes it easy for students to make decisions.”
heshan sankalpa
Visa 6 months ට අඩු නම් surcharge ගෙවන්න ඕනේ නැති එක valuable info එකක්.🙂🙂
kithsiri jayathilake
Visa 6 months ට අඩු නම් surcharge ගෙවන්න ඕනේ නැති එක ගොඩක් valuable info. මේක දැනගත්තම studentsට unnecessary payment avoid කරන්න පුළුවන්
inomi
Healthcare surcharge ගෙවලා NHS service use කරන්න පුළුවන් කියලා දැනගත්තම confidence එක වැඩි
jagath mahaliyama
Healthcare surcharge ගෙවලා NHS service use කරන්න පුළුවන් කියලා දැනගත්තම studentsට confidence එක ගොඩක් වැඩි වෙයි. මේකෙන් ඔවුන්ට安心ව treatment ගන්න හැකියාව තියෙනවා කියලා feel වෙනවා
dulmith
Visa duration 15 months නම් surcharge ගෙවන්නේ කොච්චරද
iroshika
Visa එක 1 year ට වැඩි නමුත් 18 months ට අඩු නම්, ගෙවන්න වෙන මුදල 1 year (£776) + half year (£388).
ඒක එකතුව £1,164 surcharge payment එකක් වෙනවා students සහ dependents සඳහා
madu
Studentsට ගෙවන්න වෙන මුදල් adults ට වඩා අඩු කියන එක parentsට relief එකක්
jayanika
Studentsට ගෙවන්න වෙන surcharge adults ට වඩා අඩු කියන එක parentsට ගොඩක් relief😍😍😍
kosalaa
The amount to be paid that matches the visa duration is well explained.
hishara
The explanation of the surcharge amount matching the visa duration is very clear. This will help students plan the amount they need to pay well.
himaru
NHS service use කරන්න හැම එකේම payment structure එක මේකෙන් හොඳටම තේරෙනවා.👌👌👌
hinul
NHS service use කරන්න හැම එකේම payment structure මේකෙන් හොඳටම තේරෙනවා. Studentsටත් parentsටත් clear idea එකක් ලැබෙන එක ගොඩක් useful 🥰😍🥰
janidu
Is the refund process automatic, or do I need to apply?
gimhanika
Refund process for the UK Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is not automatic — you must apply for it if you are eligible. Refunds are usually available in specific circumstances, such as if your visa is refused, you withdraw your application, or you qualify under health and care worker exemptions.
huley
Is the healthcare surcharge paid online via a secure payment method?
uthur
Yes, the healthcare surcharge is paid through a secure online payment method. You have to pay the surcharge through the official UK government portal during the visa application process, and it goes through internationally accepted secure payment options like credit/debit cards.
nethuli
Visa apply කරනකොට healthcare surcharge ගැන මේකෙන් ගොඩක් clear idea එකක් ගන්න ලැබුණා. Future plans manage කරන්න easy වෙයි කියලා හිතනවා
Aravinth yapa
As soon as you find out that you have to pay a surcharge for dependents too, you can organize the family plans properly.
karunathilake
Visa duration එකට match වෙලා surcharge calculation එක practical examples දාන්න පුළුවන්ද?
elisha
How long does the refund process normally take?
wejayanth
Visa duration 9 months නම් surcharge ගෙවන්නේ කොච්චරද🧐🧐
jananitha
£776 per year කියන එක දැක්කම ටිකක් shock උනා 😅 healthcare free කියලා හිතාගෙන හිටියේ
keshith lawan
Why do we have to pay more than £776 if the course is 1 year? Because of the visa period?
nashiya
මේ IHS fee එක once pay කරාම life time healthcare free වෙනව නේද?
nisal
Visa approve wunata psse pay krla harida apply කරනකොටම ඕන කියලා clear නෑ 😬
sankalpa senarathna
අඩේ බන් මේ healthcare charge එකත් pay කරන්න වෙනවද 😅 මම හිතුවෙ visa fee එක විතරයි කියලා… UK යන එක ලේසි නෑ නෙ 😐
vidul
හැබැයි use කරන්නත් නැතුව මේක pay කරන්න වෙන්නේ ටිකක් unfair වගේ. compulsory fee එකක් වගේ දාගෙන තියෙනවා 😒
bandy
I was in the UK… honestly speaking, this NHS access is valuable. If an emergency comes, this fee is worth it
amandika
Isn’t this healthcare fee optional? I’ve heard you can get a visa without paying it 🤔
zary
There’s no such charge like this in Canada… It’s a bit weird that this only exists in the UK
kamal ihanadhipathi
I’m planning to send my son to the UK. When parents see details like this about expenses, they get a real picture. Thanks for explaining it like this
shanaka dulanjaya
Cost එක වැඩියි තමයි, හැබැයි UK degree එකට value එකත් තියෙනවා
zagga shayl
මේ NHS surcharge එක every year ද ගෙවන්න ඕනෙ?
arshnath fathik
Honestly speaking, the fees seem a bit unfair for international students 😐 We don’t have the support that local students have
yahanya
Simple way එකට explain කරලා තියෙනවා. Google කරලා තේරෙන්නෙ නැති දෙයක් මේකෙන් clear උනා 👍
duminda
මට නම් මේ IHS fee එක ටිකක් heavy වගේ. Tuition + living already high, ඒකට healthcare fee එකත් add වෙද්දි budget plan කරන්න ලේසි නෑ 😕
charith senadeera
Do I have to pay the full amount at the time of applying for the visa?
jayanath ge
I’m in the UK right now, honestly getting GP appointments for free is a huge help. I don’t regret paying the IHS 👍
dharshana
UK study dream එක nice තමයි, 😪😪😪
shehan chamika
Lankawe private hospital yanna giyath me wage yanawa… so okay kiyala hithenawa 🤷♂️
jithmi gayanath
The hardest part is that you have to pay for this in addition to the tuition fee 💸
nethumi amaya
Apply කරනකොට IHS එක දැක්කම තමයි actual cost එක hit වුණේ 😭
charuth
It was only when I saw the IHS while applying that the actual cost hit me 😭
imesh senaka
Cost වැඩි උනත් plan කරලා ගියොත් UK study එක worth it 💯
kapila
Bank balance එක දැක්කම visa officer: ‘Nice to meet you, now bye bye 💀
shansh
NHS use karanna puluwan kiyanne hodai… habai salli tika balama poddak heart eka waduna 😂💔
bachi
It feels like a huge amount when paying at once 😭 I’m scared when swiping the card 😂
vashila
මට නම් බය මේක pay කරලා visa reject උනොත් මොකද වෙන්නේ කියලා……………………………. refund දෙනවද දන්නේ නෑ
nawan
real life budget shock 💔
denili
UK yanna hithan inne man
kalana jananjaya
The cost is higher… but the value of a UK degree is also high. Having NHS access gives a safe feeling.
sampath
අපේ කාලේ මෙච්චර charges තිබ්බේ නෑ.😪
aksha shanali
good info 👍 especially the NHS surcharge part. A lot of people don’t know about this.
adhal
UK යන්න කලින් මේ වගේ details දන්න එක gold 🔥
dewumi
Everyone who wants to go to the UK should watch this 👍
kaweesha
It’s good that you get NHS access after paying the IHS fee.
thariz
visa apply කරන වෙලාවේම full amount එක pay කරන්න ඕනේ කියන එක tough 😐 installments දාන්න බැරිද?
dewushi
Even though the cost is high, having secure healthcare gives peace of mind 👍
rodhan
GP registration process එක easy ද? NHS use කරනකොට delay වෙනවද?
kuleeni
article එක clear. step by step explain කරලා තියෙනවා 👍”
m d g shai
This IHS fee has been properly explained 👍
narmada
මේ fee එක every year pay කරන්න ඕනේද නැත්තං එක වතාවක්ද?
kalingu
I’m in the UK now. You need to have paid the IHS when applying for the visa. Once you’ve paid that, basic services like GP visits are free 👍
charthu
Tuition + visa + healthcare… bro wallet එක crying 😭
laj d p
NHS access thiyenwnm safe👍