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UK to charge universities for each international student from 2028

UK to charge universities for each international student from 2028

Rule Changes

A £925 annual levy per overseas enrollee funds England's skills system, with a 220-student exemption per provider

Today: Consultation response confirms charge applies to dropouts

Overview

Updated 2 hours ago

Every international student at an English university will carry a £925 annual charge starting August 2028. The government collects it from the university, not the student — the first 220 overseas enrolments at each provider are exempt.

The levy is projected to raise £445 million in its first year for England's higher education and skills system. But universities facing tighter visa rules and falling overseas recruitment say those figures are already out of date, and several have started raising international fees to cover the new cost.

Why it matters

If international recruitment keeps falling, levy revenue shrinks — and students cover the gap through higher fees at the very universities meant to benefit.

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Key Indicators

£925
Annual levy per international student
Flat fee English providers pay per overseas student per year of study.
220
Exempt students per provider
Overseas enrolments each university may recruit before the charge applies.
£445M
Projected first-year levy revenue
Government forecast for 2028-29, rising to £480 million by 2030-31.
-14,000
Projected lost student enrolments, 2028-29
DfE's own impact model estimates the levy will reduce international recruitment.
86,368
Chinese sponsored study visas
Largest source market, year ending June 2026; India second at 82,523.
8%
University of Bath advised fee increase
Guidance telling 2026-start international students to budget for annual rises.

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People Involved

Josh MacAlister
Josh MacAlister
Education Minister
Defending the levy in Parliament
 Vivienne Stern
Vivienne Stern
Chief Executive, Universities UK
Leading opposition to the levy
LH
Libby Hackett
Chief Executive, Russell Group
Warning of falling visa applications

Organizations Involved

Department for Education
Department for Education
UK Government Department
Policy owner; published impact analysis and consultation response

The UK department designing and delivering the international student levy.
Office for Students
Office for Students
Regulator
Will collect the levy from August 2028

England's higher education regulator, tasked with administering levy collection using enrolment data.
Universities UK
Universities UK
Membership Body
Leading institutional opposition

Umbrella body for 142 UK universities, publicly critical of the levy.

Timeline

November 2025 October 2026

4 events Latest: Today
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Consultation response confirms charge applies to dropouts

    Today Policy

    The government confirms the £925 fee applies to any international student enrolled for two weeks or more, even those who withdraw, and rejects calls for additional exemptions.

  2. Minister defends levy in Parliament

    Statement

    Education Minister Josh MacAlister reaffirms the policy, arguing tuition fee cap increases will generate far more for universities than the levy costs them.

  3. Levy consultation closes

    Consultation

    The Department for Education's three-month technical consultation on the levy's operation ends, with an impact assessment published in parallel.

  4. Budget sets the £925 levy, opens consultation

    Policy

    The autumn budget announces an international student levy of £925 per overseas enrollee on English universities and launches a technical consultation on its design.

Scenarios

1

Levy takes effect August 2028 as planned

Likely Resolves by Q3 2028

Discussed by: Government (Department for Education, Office for Students)

The policy launches unchanged. The Office for Students begins collecting the £925 charge on the 2028-29 academic year, and universities absorb the cost or pass it on through higher international fees — Birmingham City University has already announced increases of 2-3.5% and Bath has advised students to budget for 8% annual rises. Government revenue forecasts hold broadly.

2

Recruitment slide undercuts revenue projections

Possible Resolves by Q2 2029

Discussed by: Universities UK, Russell Group, The i Paper

Declining study visa applications — already visible in Home Office data and cited by university leaders — combine with visa rule tightening to push international enrolments below the Department for Education's forecast. The government's own impact model projects 14,000 to 17,000 lost students annually. Levy revenue comes in under the £445 million first-year projection, straining the skills funding it was meant to support.

3

Government scales back the levy before launch

Unlikely Resolves by Aug 1, 2028

Discussed by: Recruitment sector, university finance directors

Continued recruitment pressure prompts a policy retreat before August 2028. The government raises the 220-student exemption threshold, exempts postgraduate courses, or softens the rate — all options the consultation response explicitly rejected but which remain open. A change would blunt the revenue hit to universities while still signaling border control.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

December 2024 - 2025

Australia's international student caps (2024-25)

Australia legislated caps on new international student commencements for 2025, citing housing and infrastructure pressure in major cities. Universities heavily dependent on overseas fee income warned of budget shortfalls and staff cuts as applications slowed.

Then

Recruitment to Australian universities cooled sharply, with several institutions revising revenue forecasts downward.

Now

The episode showed how quickly a top English-speaking destination can become less attractive when government policy signals restriction.

Why this matters now

The UK levy adds a cost layer on top of tightened visa rules — a similar demand-side clampdown that universities say will shrink the very revenue it targets.

January 2024

Canada's study permit cap (2024)

Canada capped new study permits at roughly 360,000 for 2024, a cut of about one-third from prior levels, citing housing strain. Colleges and universities that had expanded international recruitment to close funding gaps faced enrollment shortfalls.

Then

Study permit approvals fell and some institutions paused programs or trimmed staff.

Now

Set a precedent in major Anglophone markets for trading international enrollment against domestic housing concerns.

Why this matters now

The UK's levy follows the same logic — managing student numbers through cost and visa friction — with the same financial risk to institutions that chased international fees.

December 2010 - 2012

England's tuition fee cap rise (2012)

The coalition government trebled England's domestic tuition cap to £9,000 over bitter opposition, including mass student protests. Universities came to rely on fee income as direct teaching grants fell.

Then

Fees became the dominant funding line for English universities within a few years.

Now

Locked in a model dependent on both domestic fees and cross-subsidy from international students — the same pressure points today's levy touches.

Why this matters now

Today's government pairs the international levy with domestic fee cap increases, explicitly using one to justify the other — a return to the 2012 funding-model debate.

Sources

(7)
+2
Business Insider Africa GOV.UK Department for Education Times Higher Education Universities UK Times Higher Education Business Insider Africa