UK Makes Important Changes to 2025 UK Visa, Students, Others Affected

• The financial requirements for anyone looking to apply for a work, tourist, or student visa in the United Kingdom have been updated for 2025
• The 2025 financial regulations have been revised to reflect the current state of the country's economy
• Students would now need to show that they have the funds to cover their tuition for the first year

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5 years of experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

For 2025, the UK government has revised the financial requirements for anyone wishing to apply for a work, tourist, or student visa.

With considerable adjustments to the requirements for living expenses and visa application fees, the financial rules for 2025 have been updated to take into account the nation's economic circumstances.

Students, visitors, employees, and families who want to reside in or travel to the nation in next year are all impacted by the changes.

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Key changes

• According to DAAD Scholarship, the living cost requirements for UK student visas have gone up for 2025. The minimum living expense requirement for applicants wishing to study in London has increased from £1,334 in 2024 to £1,400 per month.
• The monthly requirement for students studying outside of London has increased from £1,023 to £1,100. Living expenses for a maximum of nine months must be covered by these funds.
• Students must demonstrate that they have enough money to pay for their first year's tuition in addition to demonstrating their ability to pay for living expenses. A bank statement covering a consecutive 28-day period that is no more than 31 days from the date of the visa application must include this sum.
• The visit visa for stays up to six months has gone up from £115 to £120, and the cost of a regular student visa for those outside the UK has gone up from £490 to £510.
• The cost of longer-term visit visas has also increased; the two-year visa now costs £420, compared to £400 in 2024. The cost of other categories, such the priority visa service, has increased by £50 to £550.
• Visa officers will examine applicants' financial records more carefully for longer stays.
• The requirements for work visas differ depending on the type of visa. Unless their employer certifies their financial assistance, candidates for a skilled worker visa must demonstrate that they have £1,270 to support themselves.
• In 2025, changes were also made to family visas. Now, spouses and partners seeking a family visa must show that their total yearly income is at least £29,000.
• However, if an applicant or their partner receives certain disability or caregiver benefits, they might not be subject to this criterion. For children, an extra £3,800 is needed annually for the first kid and £2,400 for each extra child.
• As long as they adhere to certain paperwork guidelines, applicants may also utilise savings to reach the financial criteria. If a person has a British or Irish kid in the UK or if rejecting their application would violate their human rights, they may still be eligible for a visa even if they don't fulfill the income criterion.

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UK makes changes to its seasonal workers' visa

Legit.ng reported that the UK government had announced plans to extend the visa program for an extra five years, until 2029, and to grant 43,000 visas for seasonal workers in the agricultural sector.

The decision was made in response to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's announcement earlier this year of the NFU Conference, which boosted financing for productivity programs.

The largest-ever round of farming subsidies, worth £427 million, would be available to farmers, he said.

Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng

Source: Legit.ng