The United Kingdom in 2026: what a language student pays, and what changed

The United Kingdom made three kinds of news in the last year: student visa fees rose from April 2026, the Home Office introduced stricter compliance metrics for universities and suspended student visas for four countries, and applications from abroad fell, with a 32 per cent drop in visa grants in the first quarter of 2026. English UK, the schools' association, reported a 12 per cent drop in student weeks in the 2025 summer peak and a challenging year overall, with adults down and juniors up in early 2026.

Almost all of that concerns the Student visa route, which is for degrees and long programmes. A language course uses a different door.

The three doors, by length of course

• Up to six months: the Standard Visitor route. Citizens of Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Chile do not need a visa; they apply online for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for GBP 20 before travelling. Colombians need a visitor visa (GBP 135), since the requirement was reintroduced in November 2024. You may study an English course of any intensity at an accredited school for up to six months on this route. You may not work.
• Six to eleven months, English only: the Short-term Study visa, GBP 228, plus the Immigration Health Surcharge of GBP 776 for the period. No work, no extension, and the school must be accredited.
• Longer than eleven months: the Student visa, with a licensed sponsor, the higher maintenance requirement introduced in October 2025, and the rules that fill the newspapers.

For the great majority of Latin American students, who go for four to twenty-four weeks, the answer is the first door: an ETA, a booking at an accredited school and a return ticket.

What accreditation means here

Two things protect you in the UK: British Council accreditation, which inspects teaching, welfare and premises, and membership of English UK, which runs the Student Emergency Support scheme. When EC English closed in September 2026, that scheme placed around 370 students at other accredited schools free of charge and helped with emergency housing. It does not pay cash refunds, so its value is that your course continues. Check both marks before paying; both lists are public.

What it costs, roughly

London remains the most expensive city in the sector, and in 2026 the difference with the rest of the country is larger than ever. Brighton, Bournemouth, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh and Cardiff have accredited schools with the same exams and typically lower tuition and rent. With adults down in 2025, schools outside London have been particularly keen to fill classrooms, which is why offers from them tend to be sharper.

Budget in pounds for: the ETA or visa, tuition, accommodation (homestay is still the easiest first month), travel within the country and the health surcharge if you use the eleven-month visa. Visitors are not charged the surcharge but should carry travel insurance.

The good news on the horizon

• The UK announced in December 2025 that it will rejoin the Erasmus+ mobility programme from 2027, which will bring more European students into British classrooms and more mixed nationalities into your class.
• The new International Education Strategy, published in January 2026, sets a growth target for education exports without recruitment caps, the opposite direction from Canada and Australia.
• Junior programmes grew in 2026, and a German school-group travel concession took effect in August 2026, both signs of a sector that is adapting rather than shrinking.

A short checklist

• Passport valid for the whole stay, ETA approved before you fly.
• Enrolment letter from a British Council accredited, English UK member school.
• Proof of funds and accommodation for the border, even though no fixed amount is published for visitors.
• Course under six months? No visa. Six to eleven? Short-term Study visa, applied for at home.

The UK became a more expensive place to take a degree in 2026. For a language course, it became a place where schools compete harder for you.

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