The second major change concerns dependent visas for family members. Until 2024, international students could bring spouses and children on dependent visas relatively straightforwardly. Now the rules are much stricter. You must meet a financial requirement: you need to prove you have £29,000 in savings (as of 2024) in addition to your tuition fees and living costs. That money must be held in your account or your sponsor's account for 28 consecutive days before you apply. If you're bringing a spouse, the threshold is £29,000 plus £16,000 per dependent child. Many students cannot meet this. If you're planning to bring a partner or children, you should calculate this cost before committing to a UK program. Universities cannot sponsor dependent visas; only you can, and only if you meet the financial threshold. Some students have had dependent visa applications rejected after already paying tuition and arranging housing for their families.
Visa extensions have become harder in a different way. Previously, students could extend their Student visa while in the UK relatively easily, provided they were making satisfactory academic progress. Now the Home Office requires you to meet additional criteria: you must demonstrate that you have not worked more than the permitted hours, that you have sufficient funds to support yourself for the next year of study, and that you have not been in the UK continuously for more than six years on a Student visa. That last rule is new and important. If you've been in the UK on a Student visa for six years already—perhaps doing an undergraduate degree followed by a master's—you cannot extend. You must leave and reapply from outside the UK, which means you lose your place, pay new application fees, and start the visa process over. Students who thought they could do a three-year undergraduate degree followed by a three-year doctorate have discovered they cannot.
The six-year limit applies to continuous time on a Student visa, not to time in the UK overall. If you leave the UK for six months or more, the clock resets. But that reset is not automatic; you have to apply for a new visa from outside the UK. Some students have tried to game this by leaving for a few months and returning, only to find the Home Office has flagged the pattern and refused the new application on the grounds that the applicant is attempting to circumvent the rules. There is no official guidance on how many times you can do this before the Home Office refuses you, so the safest assumption is once, maybe twice.
Work visa transitions have also tightened. Previously, a student could finish their degree and transition to a Graduate visa (which allows two years of work in the UK) relatively smoothly. That transition still exists, but the Graduate visa now requires you to have completed your degree and to apply within three months of graduation. If you miss that window, you cannot apply from within the UK; you must leave and apply from abroad, and the Home Office may refuse you if they believe you've been working illegally in the interim. The Graduate visa itself is not a pathway to permanent residency; it's a two-year work permit. After two years, you must either find an employer willing to sponsor you for a Skilled Worker visa (which requires a job offer and a salary threshold of at least £33,000 per year, though some roles have lower thresholds) or leave the UK.
The financial requirement for the Student visa itself has not changed—you still need to prove you can cover tuition and living costs—but the Home Office is now scrutinizing proof of funds more carefully. Bank statements must show the money has been held for 28 consecutive days. If your parents are funding you, they must provide a notarized letter confirming they are giving you the money as a gift, not a loan. If the money comes from a loan, you must provide the loan agreement and proof that the lender has authorized you to use it for UK study. Statements that are unclear, or that show large deposits shortly before the 28-day holding period, are now more likely to trigger a request for further evidence or a visa refusal.
Dependents on dependent visas face their own restrictions. A spouse on a dependent visa cannot work unless they apply separately for a work visa, which requires a job offer and sponsorship. Children on dependent visas can attend school but cannot work at all, even part-time. If a dependent turns 18 while on a dependent visa, they do not automatically gain work rights; they must apply for their own visa if they wish to stay and work.
The practical effect of these changes is that a UK student move now requires much more planning and much more money upfront. If you're bringing a family, you need to budget not just for tuition and living costs but for the £29,000 dependent visa financial requirement. If you're planning to stay for multiple degrees, you need to understand the six-year limit and plan your exit or your visa transition accordingly. If you're relying on part-time work to supplement your income, you need to be scrupulous about tracking your hours and understanding what the Home Office considers term time for your specific university.
The changes have been controversial. Universities have warned that the tighter rules will deter international students, reducing diversity on campuses and cutting into university revenue. International student enrollment has already begun to decline. But the Home Office has made clear that reducing international student numbers is the policy objective, not an unintended consequence.
If you're already on a Student visa, check your visa conditions carefully. They will specify the exact hours you can work and the exact term dates for your institution. If you're planning to apply, contact your university's international student office and ask specifically about the new rules, the financial requirements for dependents, and the six-year limit. Ask them to provide the official term dates in writing, because that document will be important if you ever need to prove you were not working during term time. If you're considering bringing dependents, calculate the full cost—tuition, living expenses, and the dependent visa financial requirement—before you commit. If you're nearing the end of a degree and thinking about staying to work, understand that you have a three-month window to apply for the Graduate visa after graduation, and that the Graduate visa is a two-year work permit, not a pathway to permanent residency unless you can secure a Skilled Worker visa sponsorship.
