England will charge universities a flat £925 a year for each international student, starting in August 2028. The Department for Education confirmed the plan on 13 July in its response to a consultation that drew 91 submissions, and the measure is due to be legislated through the Finance Bill after this autumn's budget.
How it will work
- Who pays: higher education providers registered with the Office for Students, not students directly.
- Who counts: students who do not qualify for home fee status.
- Allowance: each provider is exempt for its first 220 such students in a reporting year.
- Exemptions: students who withdraw within two weeks of starting, transnational students taught outside the UK, students on non-credit courses, and postdoctoral researchers. Students who leave after the first two weeks are still counted.
- Timeline: trial calculations in 2026/27 and 2027/28 with no money collected, then collection from 1 August 2028.
The levy applies in England. The Scottish government has formally rejected a UK-wide version.
The cost
The Higher Education Policy Institute has estimated the cost at just over £620 million a year across English universities, based on 2023/24 numbers. The biggest bills would fall on University College London, the University of Manchester and King's College London.
The reaction
Opposition from universities has been unusually blunt. Universities UK's chief executive, Vivienne Stern, said it amounted to the government "effectively putting a tariff on a UK export". Durham's vice-chancellor called it "absolute insanity". The sector points to falling international recruitment: UUK cited a 6.1 per cent drop in international enrolments in 2024/25.
What it means for applicants
Universities may try to pass some of the cost on through higher fees for international students, although analysts expect many will struggle to recover it all. Students planning to start in England from 2028 should look closely at fee schedules and at scholarships, which may become more valuable.