The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is a fee that some international students must pay as part of their Student visa application.
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is paid for through taxes. This means that all UK nationals and most residents have equal access to the NHS without being charged each time they visit a doctor or hospital.
When you come to the UK as an international student, paying the IHS allows you to use the NHS in the same way as UK nationals and residents.
Who must pay the IHS?
You must pay the IHS if:
- You’re applying for your Student visa outside the UK and you’re coming to the UK for more than 6 months or
- You’re applying for your Student visa inside the UK and you’ll be here for any length of time.
Important to know: You must pay the IHS even if you have private medical insurance. You can’t take out private healthcare insurance as an alternative to paying the IHS as it’s a mandatory fee included as part of your Student visa application.
Is anyone exempt from paying the IHS?
You don’t have to pay the IHS if you’re:
- Applying to come to the UK for less than 6 months (e.g. on a Visitor visa)
- Applying to come to the UK as an Academic Visitor for up to 12 months.
If you’re exempt from paying the IHS, we strongly recommend that you have private health insurance to cover the time you’ll be in the UK.
If you’re a Chevening Scholar, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will pay the IHS on your behalf.
How much do I have to pay?
You and any dependants will be charged £776 per person for each year the Student visa will be granted for. You have to pay the full amount covering the full length of your visa as part of your visa application. You can’t pay the charge in instalments.
If your visa lasts for more than 1 year, any additional time of less than 6 months will be charged half the annual amount (£338).
The amount of IHS you must pay depends on the length of the visa you’ll be granted and not the length of your course. For most students, your visa will start 1 month before your course begins and end 4 months after your course ends. This means your IHS cost will be the duration of your course plus 5 months.
Here are some examples:
| Course length and type | IHS payment |
| 1-year Master's degree | £1164 |
| 3-year undergraduate degree | £2716 |
| 4-year PhD | £3492 |
You can use the Home Office’s calculator tool to find out how much you’ll need to pay.
Is it possible to get a refund of the IHS?
You’ll receive a refund of the IHS if:
- You paid twice for the same visa application or overpaid
- Your visa application was refused or rejected
- You withdrew your visa application before a decision was made.
You may also be eligible for an IHS refund if your healthcare is paid for by an EU country or Switzerland. Please read the information on the UKVI website for further information.
You won’t receive a refund if:
- Your visa application was successful, but you didn’t come to the UK
- You leave the UK before your visa ends
- You’re told by the Home Office to leave the UK before your visa expires
- You don’t access the NHS during your time in the UK.
If you’re entitled to a refund, you don’t have to do anything to receive it. It’ll be automatically paid to the account or card you paid with by the Home Office. Please bear in mind that it can take up to 3 months to receive a refund.
What if I take an interruption of studies or withdraw from my course?
Unfortunately, the Home Office won’t issue a refund of the IHS if you take an interruption of studies or withdraw from your course.
If you take an interruption of studies, you must pay the IHS again when you apply for your new visa to continue your studies. You can’t transfer any previous amounts you paid to your new visa application.