Does Anyone Study in the UK? A Nepali Student's Guide
Yes — thousands do. Real UK tuition, living costs, visa funds, the 28-day rule and post-study work rules, written for Nepali students and families.
Yes — and the real question is what it costs and what happens after
Yes, Nepali students study in the UK in large numbers, across undergraduate degrees, one-year taught masters, foundation years and pathway colleges. The useful question is not whether anyone goes, but what a family actually has to pay, what the Home Office actually checks, and what the degree is worth afterwards — and on all three points the answers have changed since 2024.
This page pulls together the published figures for a group of UK institutions that recruit from Nepal, and says where the catches are. If you want a course-by-course match on cost, entry grades and English, use the free Master Reckoner. The wider destination guide sits at /uk.
What your current qualification lets you apply for
Your highest completed qualification decides the route, and this is where expectations most often go wrong.
- SEE / Class 10 only. Not enough for a UK degree. A Student visa for a degree needs a completed Year 12 equivalent, so +2, A-Levels or IB has to be finished first. Do not plan a September start on Class 10.
- +2 / NEB passed. The main school-leaver route. Most institutions here accept +2 for direct Year 1 entry at about 60% or GPA 2.5–2.8. City St George's, University of London is the exception — it does not accept the Nepal school-leaving qualification for Year 1, and asks for a foundation year, A-Levels or the IB (citystgeorges.ac.uk).
- A-Levels or IB. Cleanest offers, and the grade-linked awards key off them. UWL states the IB Diploma from a minimum of 25 points depending on course (uwl.ac.uk).
- CTEVT or Tribhuvan diploma. UWL accepts a Tribhuvan University or CTEVT diploma; Ulster accepts a CTEVT diploma at 50% overall (ulster.ac.uk). Advanced standing is decided case by case — nobody should promise you a year of credit before the assessment.
- Completed bachelor's. The taught masters route. Ulster publishes the Nepal map precisely: a 2:1 equals a 3-year bachelor at 70% or a 4-year at 65%; a 2:2 equals a 3-year at 60% or a 4-year at 55%.
- Completed master's. Research degrees (MPhil/PhD) — the only level that permits dependants.
Tuition: what these institutions publish
These are the published fees held in our module. Individual course pages set the final figure, so check the course, not just the country page.
| Course and institution | Published fee | London campus? |
|---|---|---|
| Master's — Bradford, classroom-based | £15,700 | No |
| Master's — UCB Band 1 | £17,500 | No |
| Master's — Keele Band 1 (business/MBA) | £18,200 | No |
| Master's — Ulster, standard taught masters | £18,310 | No |
| Master's — Huddersfield MA/MSc | £18,700 | No |
| Master's — Huddersfield London MSc | £18,700 | Yes |
| Master's — London Met (from) | £20,000 | Yes |
| Master's — Gloucestershire Band A | £20,190 | No |
| Bachelor's — Bradford, classroom-based | £16,100 per year | No |
| Bachelor's — UCB Band 1 | £16,500 per year | No |
| Bachelor's — Ulster | £17,490 per year | No |
| Bachelor's — Huddersfield (and Huddersfield London) | £17,600 per year | No / Yes |
| Bachelor's — UCA (2026/27) | £18,000 per year | No |
| Bachelor's — Exeter science/engineering | £31,200 per year | No |
| International Foundation Diploma — UCB | £11,000 | No |
| Foundation Certificate — UoLIC (Business/Law/Social Sci) | £22,640 | No |
| Pre-Master's — UoLIC (Business/Economics/Finance) | £25,210 | No |
Two catches worth naming. A pathway fee buys the preparation year only — after UoLIC, the family then pays University of Liverpool degree fees for the remaining years. And fees can move after you accept: Plymouth states on its own fees page that the UK Government has announced a possible levy of around 6% on international tuition fee income and that it reserves the right to increase fees if implemented (plymouth.ac.uk); Keele caps any 2026/27 increase at 5% and notifies by 30 April 2026 (keele.ac.uk); Ulster charges a separate clinical placement levy of £12,133 on relevant programmes.
Placement years are priced separately too: Huddersfield £3,300 (hud.ac.uk), MMU £1,955 (mmu.ac.uk), Gloucestershire £2,575 (glos.ac.uk), UCA £3,490 (uca.ac.uk).
Living costs: the visa minimum is not the real cost
The "visa minimum" column below is the official Home Office maintenance requirement. The "realistic" and "rent" columns are estimates built from sector norms, not scraped official figures — they are here so a family does not budget to the visa floor and run short.
| City / region | Visa minimum | Realistic | Rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| London (UWL, City St George's, St Mary's, Huddersfield London, London Met, Arden London) | £1,483/month | £1,300 – £1,900/month | £800 – £1,300/month |
| Manchester (MMU, Arden Manchester) | £1,136/month | £950 – £1,350/month | £550 – £850/month |
| Birmingham (UCB, Arden Birmingham) | £1,136/month | £900 – £1,300/month | £500 – £800/month |
| Belfast / Coleraine / Derry (Ulster) | £1,136/month | £800 – £1,150/month | £400 – £700/month |
| Bradford / Huddersfield | £1,136/month | £800 – £1,150/month | £400 – £650/month |
| Keele / Staffordshire | £1,136/month | £800 – £1,150/month | £450 – £700/month on campus |
| Plymouth / Exeter / Cornwall | £1,136/month | £900 – £1,300/month | £500 – £850/month |
| Cheltenham / Gloucester | £1,136/month | £850 – £1,250/month | £450 – £750/month |
| Farnham / Canterbury / Epsom / Rochester (UCA) | £1,136/month | £950 – £1,400/month | £550 – £900/month |
| Liverpool (UoLIC) | £1,136/month | £850 – £1,200/month | £450 – £700/month |
London versus non-London is a Home Office definition tied to the institution's location, not a judgement about how urban a place feels. Epsom and Farnham sit inside London's cost shadow without being London for visa purposes. Confirm which side of the line your specific campus falls on — it is worth £347 a month. Keele guarantees on-campus accommodation if you apply by 30 June for a September start.
The money test — where applications actually fail
Maintenance is in addition to the tuition on your CAS, and it is capped at 9 months regardless of course length.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Maintenance — London | £1,483/month, max 9 months = £13,347 |
| Maintenance — outside London | £1,136/month, max 9 months = £10,224 |
| Student visa application (outside the UK) | £558 |
| Student visa extend / switch (inside the UK) | £558 |
| Immigration Health Surcharge | £1,035 per year of stay |
| TB test | £65 |
| Graduate visa application, later, if taken | £937 + IHS £1,035/yr |
Financial evidence is the most common refusal point. The maintenance money must sit in the account for 28 consecutive days, and the end of that 28-day period must be within 31 days of the visa application date. The account must be in the student's name or a permitted sponsor's name — check whose name is on the statement before you submit, not after. Prepare statements around the application date, not months in advance.
Other documents: CAS, academic transcripts and certificates (Nepalese documents may need official translation), English evidence (London Met and UWL both publish approved national qualification lists for Nepal), a TB certificate from a UKVI-approved clinic for courses longer than 6 months, a valid passport, sponsor consent and bank documents if the funds are not yours, and an ATAS certificate for some sensitive postgraduate science and engineering subjects.
Deposits vary before the CAS is issued: from £1,000 at UCB within one month of offer, to £4,000 at Ulster before CAS, and up to 50% of first-year tuition at London Met and UCB. Huddersfield London additionally charges a £260 non-refundable confirmation fee before the CAS request (london.hud.ac.uk).
Dependants. For postgraduate courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, a partner or child can come only if the course is a PhD or other doctorate (RQF level 8) or a research-based higher degree, or if you are a government-sponsored student on a course longer than 6 months. A taught MSc, MA or MBA does not qualify. Settle this with the family at the first meeting.
After the degree: be realistic
The Graduate Route gives 2 years of unsponsored work if you apply on or before 31 December 2026, and 18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027. Doctoral graduates get 3 years. It depends on your application date, not your course date — a student starting a one-year masters in September 2026 finishes in late 2027 and falls into the 18-month regime.
Turning that into a long-term UK career means a licensed sponsor under the Skilled Worker route, which since 22 July 2025 needs a salary of at least £41,700, or £33,400 on the new-entrant/recent-graduate discount. The median UK graduate salary is £30,000 (HESA Graduate Outcomes 2023/24, published 4 June 2026; 81% of that cohort were in paid or unpaid work). Compare those two numbers yourself and you will see why the Graduate Route is a window to gain experience, not a reliable route to settlement.
Median salaries by subject, same HESA release, for UK-domiciled first-degree graduates: medicine and dentistry £43,749; veterinary sciences £34,990; engineering and technology £32,478; mathematical sciences £32,450; computing £31,788; education and teaching £30,980; social sciences £30,000; business and management £28,990; law £26,488; design and creative arts £25,998; media, journalism and communications £25,938.
Part-time work: permitted hours depend on course level and term-time versus vacation and are set per case on the CAS, so check the CAS rather than assuming the familiar 20-hour figure. The National Living Wage is £12.71/hour for those aged 21 and over from 1 April 2026 (£10.85 for 18–20). Work helps with living costs. It does not pay UK tuition.
More cost and entry breakdowns are in the guides section.
Common questions
Can I bring my spouse on a one-year UK masters?
No. For postgraduate courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, dependants are permitted only on a PhD or other doctorate (RQF level 8) or a research-based higher degree, or for a government-sponsored student on a course longer than 6 months. A taught MSc, MA or MBA does not qualify. Raise this before the application, not after the CAS.
Will my +2 get me straight into first year?
At most institutions in this list, yes — the common bar is about 60% or GPA 2.5–2.8. UWL asks 60% or CGPA 2.5/4.0, Ulster asks 60%/GPA 2.8 including 50% in five subjects, and Plymouth asks GPA 2.8. City St George's does not accept the Nepal school-leaving qualification for Year 1 at all, so that student needs a foundation year, A-Levels or the IB.
Which option is cheapest overall?
Bradford, on both halves: £15,700 for a classroom-based masters and £16,100 per year for a classroom-based undergraduate degree, in one of the lowest-cost parts of the UK. Ulster in Northern Ireland is the next strongest total-cost option, with the lowest living costs of any UK region here. Arden Manchester is cheaper still at £12,500 for a postgraduate course, but it is blended delivery — check the delivery mode against your visa expectations.
Is a UK degree worth it if I cannot stay?
Often yes, but for a different reason than families assume. A one-year taught masters means one year of fees and one year of living costs instead of two, plus a qualification that carries weight with employers across South Asia and the Gulf. The return is realised back in Nepal, India or the Gulf far more often than through UK settlement.
Official sources
- University of Exeter — https://www.exeter.ac.uk/
- Ulster University — https://www.ulster.ac.uk/
- Manchester Metropolitan University — https://www.mmu.ac.uk/
- Keele University — https://www.keele.ac.uk/
- City St George's, University of London — https://www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/
- University of Plymouth — https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/
- University of Huddersfield — https://www.hud.ac.uk/
- University of Huddersfield, London — https://london.hud.ac.uk/
- St Mary's University, Twickenham — https://www.stmarys.ac.uk/
- University of West London — https://www.uwl.ac.uk/
- University for the Creative Arts — https://www.uca.ac.uk/
- University of Gloucestershire — https://www.glos.ac.uk/
Visa fees, maintenance amounts and work rules are set by the Home Office on the gov.uk Student visa and Graduate visa pages; salary figures are from HESA Graduate Outcomes 2023/24. Always confirm the current figure on the official page before you transfer money.