The UK government has set out plans for a £925 charge per international student from 2028, with its official modelling indicating a £330 million annual hit to university finances.
On the day Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled the government’s autumn budget, the Department of Education launched an open consultation on the technical design of its controversial international student levy – confirming that England’s universities will be charged a flat fee of £925 per international student per year from August 2028.
The Department said the consultation aims to “ensure the effective introduction and delivery” of the levy, which will be collected by the Office for Students and applied to all higher education providers recruiting international students.
Publishing the technical consultation, the government said: “The international student levy will require providers to pay a flat fee of £925 per international student per year… It will take effect from 1 August 2028.”
The proceeds will be invested into higher education and skills, with ministers stating that the levy will help fund the reintroduction of targeted maintenance grants for disadvantaged students – a policy framed as part of the government’s Plan for Change.
Under the proposed design, each provider will receive an allowance covering their first 220 international students each year – equivalent to exempting roughly £200,000 of levy liability. The government says this is intended to reduce disproportionate burdens on smaller or specialist institutions and will be “kept under review”.
Draft legislation is due to be published in 2026, with further technical consultation scheduled before the levy is included in a future Finance Bill. The new charge itself will not begin until the 2028/29 academic year, giving institutions “time to plan for its introduction”.
The international student levy will apply to England only and once it is introduced, the government projects it will raise roughly £445 million in year one (2028/29) rising to £465 million in year two (2029/30) and £480 million in year three (2030/31).
Meanwhile, it projects that the higher-education sector could see a net income loss of £270m in 2028/29, increasing to £300m in 2029/30 and £330m in 2030/31.
In terms of student enrolments lost due to the implementation of the levy, the government’s impact analysis estimates a loss of 14,000 international student enrolments in the initial year, rising to 16,500 fewer students by 2030/31.
The levy was first floated in May’s immigration white paper, with a 6% levy on universities’ international fee income originally modelled, sparking widespread concern across a sector already facing hefty deficits.
Jess Lister, head of higher education at Public First, said that the clarification of a flat £925 per-student fee “marks a real reversal of fortune” for UK universities.
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