England plans to charge universities £925 for every international student they enrol each academic year, under a levy scheduled to begin in August 2028, Punch Newspapers reports.
The charge would fall on higher education providers rather than on students directly, and would apply to overseas learners registered on eligible courses during an academic year. According to Punch Newspapers, institutions could also owe the levy for continuing international students, so the cost would not be confined to new intakes.
Money raised would go towards maintenance grants for disadvantaged domestic undergraduates. The government first set out the International Student Levy in its 2025 Budget and restated its commitment on 19 October 2026, when Education Minister Josh MacAlister addressed Parliament.
Why it matters
International tuition fees are a major income stream for many UK universities, supporting teaching, research and other academic work. A per-head charge on overseas enrolments therefore touches the finances of institutions that recruit heavily abroad — and, indirectly, the choices open to students from countries such as Nigeria, India and China.
The policy also lands at an awkward moment. Visa applications from prospective international students have reportedly dropped by 22 per cent over the past year and by more than 30 per cent against three years ago, while immigration requirements for overseas students have become stricter. Universities are already adjusting to weaker recruitment, and the levy adds a further cost to budget for.
For Nigeria, the stakes are direct. Home Office figures for the year ending June 2026 reportedly put China, India and Nigeria as the three largest nationalities receiving sponsored study visas, together accounting for roughly 54 per cent of visas granted to main applicants. Any shift in how English universities price or recruit overseas students could affect Nigerian applicants weighing UK study.
What ministers say the levy will pay for
Under the proposed arrangement, domestic undergraduates from households earning up to £30,000 a year would receive maintenance support throughout their degrees. The grants would be worth up to £1,000 annually in the first two years, falling to £750 a year thereafter. Eligibility would concentrate on courses tied to the government's industrial strategy, including engineering and healthcare.
MacAlister, responding to a parliamentary question on the policy's economic rationale, said the government had already consulted on the plan and published an impact assessment in 2025, with a revised analysis due shortly. He also argued that raising domestic tuition fee caps would bring higher education providers around £6 billion over five years, against a projected levy cost to universities of under £1 billion across the same period.
Projected receipts from the levy are £445 million in 2028/29, £465 million in 2029/30 and £480 million in 2030/31, according to the reporting. Those figures rest in part on assumptions about how many international students England's universities will attract.
Opposition and open questions
University leaders have opposed the levy since it was announced, citing rising operating costs and falling overseas enrolment. Punch Newspapers reports that the National Union of Students and the Russell Group are among higher education stakeholders voicing concern about the effect on university finances and on the UK's international education sector.
Because the charge is levied on institutions, its practical effect on students is not fixed. Universities could absorb the cost, or review tuition fees, recruitment plans or other spending in response — decisions that would be made institution by institution. Whether any of the expense is passed on to applicants remains an open question rather than a settled feature of the policy.
The government frames the levy as a way to widen access for disadvantaged domestic students, especially in subjects it considers important to economic growth. Critics question whether taxing overseas recruitment is the right mechanism at a time when that recruitment is already slowing.
With implementation set for August 2028, attention now turns to the updated impact assessment and the detailed rules on how the levy will be collected and administered.
