UK Visa Fee and IHS From Iran: 2026 Rates, IHS Maths and How to Pay
You have your CAS, you've filled in the visa form on GOV.UK, and two card payments are left at the end: the IHS (the healthcare surcharge) and the visa fee itself. This guide gives the official 2026 rates with sources, shows exactly what the IHS comes to and why it is charged for longer than your course, explains the order of the two payments, and covers what is refunded on a refusal and how to pay from Iran.
UK visas from Iran
Visa fee and IHS: two payments, one form
This article at a glance
Last checked: September 30, 2026
| Visa | Visa fee | IHS a year | Where it's paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student visa | £558 | £776 a year | Both in the GOV.UK online application: the IHS first, then the visa fee |
| Student's partner or child | £558 each | £776 a year | In each person's own application |
| Standard Visitor (up to 6 months) | £135 | None | In the GOV.UK online application |
- Two separate payments, both inside the same online application: the IHS first, then the visa fee. GOV.UK says the IHS must be paid by debit or credit card.
- The IHS is charged for the whole length of the visa, not the course. A one-year master's means a visa of about 17 months and an IHS of £1,164.
- If the visa is refused, or you withdraw before a decision, the IHS is refunded in full — to the card it was paid with.
- Rima pays on your behalf for 3% of the order, with the receipt in the applicant's name. It doesn't fill in the form, book appointments or have any part in the visa decision.
Two separate costs: the visa fee and the IHS
Most of the confusion starts from treating these as one amount. They aren't: the reason, the amount, the order of payment and the refund rules all differ.
Visa application fee
What UKVI charges to consider the application, per person: £558 for a Student visa. It is paid at the end of the online form, and GOV.UK says it is refunded only if you withdraw before UKVI starts processing.
Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)
The charge for using the NHS during your visa. It applies to visas of more than 6 months applied for from outside the UK, not to visitor visas. It is paid when you apply, for the whole visa and before the visa fee, and private medical insurance doesn't exempt you.
The common mistake: working out the IHS from the course length
GOV.UK says plainly that a visa may last longer than your course, and the IHS is charged for the visa. For a course of 12 months or longer, the Immigration Rules add 1 month before it starts and 4 months after it ends. So a 12-month master's carries a year and a half of IHS, not one year.
Official UK visa and IHS rates for 2026
The visa fees have applied since 8 April 2026. The Home Office table for fees from 8 October 2026 leaves every figure below unchanged.
Last checked: September 30, 2026
| Visa | Application fee | IHS |
|---|---|---|
| Student visa — applying from outside the UK | £558 (before 8 April 2026: £524) | £776 a year |
| Student's partner or child | £558 each | £776 a year each |
| Standard Visitor (up to 6 months) | £135 (before 8 April 2026: £127) | None |
| Long-term Standard Visitor, 2 / 5 / 10 years (up to 6 months per visit) | £506 / £903 / £1,128 | None |
| Most other visas of more than 6 months | Depends on the visa | £1,035 a year |
The £776 a year rate covers students, their dependants and under-18 applicants; other visas pay £1,035 a year. Optional extras are separate: a faster decision with Priority (£500) or Super Priority (£1,000) where offered. We don't print dollar or Toman figures because the rate moves daily.
What does the IHS actually come to? Three examples
GOV.UK prices part-years like this (for applications from outside the UK):
Last checked: September 30, 2026
| Visa length | IHS charged |
|---|---|
| 6 months or less (applying from outside the UK) | No IHS |
| More than 6 months but less than a year | A full year |
| More than a year, up to 18 months | A year and a half |
| More than 18 months but less than 2 years | 2 full years |
One-year master's (12-month course)
- Visa length: 1 month before + 12-month course + 4 months after = about 17 months
- IHS: more than a year, up to 18 months, so 1.5 × £776 = £1,164
- With the visa fee: £558 + £1,164 = £1,722
On a one-year master's the IHS is about twice the visa fee, so budgeting for £558 alone falls well short.
15-month master's (for example, with a placement)
- Visa length: 1 + 15 + 4 = about 20 months
- IHS: more than 18 months but less than 2 years, so 2 × £776 = £1,552
- With the visa fee: £558 + £1,552 = £2,110
Three more months of course add half a year of IHS at once. The two together are above the $2,000 cap on a single order, and the IHS alone may reach or pass it depending on the day's rate — see "above the order cap" in the FAQ.
Standard Visitor (up to 6 months)
- Visa fee: £135
- IHS: none (visitor visas, and visas of 6 months or less applied for from outside the UK, are exempt)
Travelling as a family? Each person has their own application and fee.
These are estimates. The IHS payment page works out the exact figure from the course dates you enter. The month before the course is given in full only if the visa is granted at least a month before the course starts; and if you're granted less time than you asked for, part of the IHS is refunded.
Why an Iranian card is refused on GOV.UK
GOV.UK says the IHS must be paid "by debit or credit card", and the visa fee is paid in the same online application; when UK visa payments moved online in 2013, a UK government notice on GOV.UK said the new global payment system would require payment online with a Visa or MasterCard debit or credit card. Cards issued in Iran aren't connected to the Visa or Mastercard networks, so the payment page doesn't recognise them at all — the problem is the instrument, not the balance. More in our guide to paying with Visa and Mastercard from Iran.
Paying from Iran, step by step
The GOV.UK route, in the order the form takes you:
- 1
Fill in the online form yourself
You apply online on GOV.UK only. For a Student visa the earliest is 6 months before the course starts, and you must apply within 6 months of getting your CAS; for a Standard Visitor visa the earliest is 3 months before you travel.
- 2
The IHS step
If the visa is for more than 6 months, the form takes you to pay the IHS. It asks for your course dates (if you're a student) and works out the amount from the length of the visa. GOV.UK says it must be paid by debit or credit card.
- 3
Keep the IHS reference number
After paying, the IHS reference number is shown on screen and emailed to you. It can be used only once; if you reapply, you need a new one.
- 4
Finish the form and pay the visa fee
GOV.UK says that after the IHS you finish the application form and pay the visa application fee in the same online application.
- 5
Identity and biometrics
Either with the UK Immigration: ID Check app, or at a visa application centre appointment that may be in another country — you're told which when you apply. You must book and attend within 240 days of applying. Most centres offer free appointments; in some locations a standard appointment costs £76.50.
Where Rima comes in
Rima pays the amount GOV.UK asked for, in the right currency and inside the deadline, and hands you the receipt. It doesn't book appointments, fill in the form or have any part in the visa result; the form and the file are yours or your lawyer's.
- What the order form asks for:
- The same three things the service page lists: the embassy name, the applicant's name exactly as it appears in the passport, and the passport number. The receipt is issued against that name and number, so getting them right matters more than speed.
- Ask before ordering:
- For the UK, the payment happens inside the GOV.UK online application, at two separate steps (the IHS and the visa fee), not at an embassy desk. So before ordering, ask what to enter for your application and how the payment step is done; the service page also says that if you're unsure, ask first — checking costs nothing.
- Currency:
- GOV.UK charges in pounds, but this service's order form takes US dollars, so the order is entered as the dollar equivalent of the pound amount at the day's rate. If you're unsure of the equivalent, ask before ordering.
- Fee:
- 3% of the order, added on top; the amount you enter is the amount paid. For example, on a $1,000 order the fee is $30. The Toman total at the day's rate plus the fee is shown before you pay.
- Timing and limits:
- The commitment ceiling is 24 hours, and the payment depends on the destination portal's own hours; if a deadline is close, say so up front. Each order is between $10 to $2,000.
- If the payment can't be made:
- Your money comes back, and the fee is only charged on a payment that actually happened.
To ask before ordering, use the Contact page. The fee and limits above are read from the same pricing row the order is priced from; the full table is on the embassy and visa fee service page.
Order the visa fee and IHS payment5 questions before paying any intermediary
The IHS and visa fee are large amounts with a deadline. Whichever service you use, get these five answers before paying:
- 1
Can you see the exchange rate before logging in and ordering?
A rate revealed only after sign-up or at checkout makes comparison impossible.
- 2
Is the fee a stated number or percentage?
"Shown at checkout" isn't an answer.
- 3
Is the fee added on top or deducted from the amount?
If deducted, less than GOV.UK asked for gets paid. For the IHS that means an email from UKVI asking for the rest, and if it isn't paid within 7 working days (applying from outside the UK), the application is refused.
- 4
Is the receipt issued in the applicant's name?
It should name the person applying for the visa, not the intermediary.
- 5
If the payment isn't made, does the full amount come back?
And if the IHS is refunded later, how does that money reach you (next section)?
Rima's answers are on the service page before the order form: the rate on the site's home page, the fee in the service page's table, the fee added on top, the receipt in the applicant's name, and your money back if the payment isn't made.
IHS refunds if the visa is refused
GOV.UK's official rules for IHS refunds:
Last checked: September 30, 2026
| Situation | IHS |
|---|---|
| The visa is refused | Full IHS refund |
| You withdraw before a decision | Full IHS refund |
| You paid the IHS twice for the same application | Full IHS refund |
| The visa is granted for less time than you asked for | Partial IHS refund |
| A dependant is refused but your visa is granted | Only that dependant's IHS is refunded |
| The visa is granted and you don't travel, or you withdraw after it's granted | No refund |
You don't have to do anything to get it: it's usually paid within 6 weeks of the decision, to the account or card it was paid with, and if someone else paid on your behalf, the refund goes to them. So if an intermediary paid your IHS, ask before ordering how a refund would reach you. The visa fee has a different rule: per GOV.UK it's refunded only if you withdraw before processing starts.
Frequently asked questions
Is the IHS paid separately from the visa fee?
Yes. They're two separate payments, both inside the same GOV.UK online application: the IHS first (which gives you a single-use reference number), then the visa application fee. The IHS applies only to visas of more than 6 months applied for from outside the UK; a visitor visa has none.
Do a partner and children have to pay too?
Yes. Each person applies separately and pays the £558 visa fee plus the IHS, which for dependants is also £776 a year; their visas end on the same date as yours. Note that for postgraduate courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, GOV.UK allows dependants only for a PhD or research-based higher degree (or a government-sponsored course of more than 6 months).
My amount is above the order cap. What do I do?
Each order on this service is between $10 to $2,000. The IHS is paid when you apply, for the whole visa, and for longer visas it can exceed that cap on its own — a two-year IHS is £1,552. If your amount is above the cap, call the number on the Contact page, or send a message through the contact form there, and Rima will call you back.
Should I enter the order in pounds or dollars?
GOV.UK charges in pounds, but this service's order form takes dollars only, so you enter the dollar equivalent of the pound amount at the day's rate, and the Toman total with the fee is shown before you pay. We don't print a fixed pound-to-dollar or Toman figure because the rate moves daily. If you're unsure, ask before ordering.
How long does it take?
Rima's commitment ceiling for making the payment is 24 hours; if a deadline is close, say so up front. The visa decision isn't Rima's: GOV.UK says Student and Standard Visitor applications from outside the UK usually get a decision within 3 weeks of applying and proving your identity. If the IHS is unpaid or short, UKVI emails you and you have 7 working days to pay, or the application is refused.
Is the IHS refunded if the visa is refused?
Yes, in full — usually within 6 weeks of the decision, to the account or card it was paid with. If someone else paid on your behalf, the refund goes to them. The visa fee itself, per GOV.UK, is refunded only if you withdraw before UKVI starts processing.
Rima's phone number and contact form are on the Contact page.
Beyond the visa: tuition and the deposit
Your course fee is on your CAS, and whether the university wants a deposit before issuing it, and when the rest of the tuition is due, is up to the university. For the ways to pay tuition from Iran, see our tuition payment guide, and to pay it, the tuition and deposit payment service.
Reached the payment step?
Enter the amount and the applicant's details and see the final total before you pay. The fee is published on the page and the receipt is issued in the applicant's name.
Read next
Sources
- GOV.UK — Student visa (fees, decision times, withdrawal)
- GOV.UK — Student visa: Apply online
- GOV.UK — Student visa: Your partner and children
- GOV.UK — IHS: Who needs to pay
- GOV.UK — IHS: How much you have to pay
- GOV.UK — IHS: Paying the healthcare surcharge
- GOV.UK — IHS: Refunds
- GOV.UK — Immigration Rules: Appendix Student (ST 25.2 and ST 25.3, period of grant)
- GOV.UK — Standard Visitor visa
- GOV.UK — Standard Visitor: visa fees
- Home Office — Immigration and nationality fees, 8 April 2026
- Home Office — Immigration and nationality fees, 8 October 2026
- GOV.UK — How to apply for a visa: paying fees and proving your identity
- GOV.UK — Change to UK visa payments (British High Commission Banjul, 2013)
- Rima embassy and visa fee payment service (steps, fee, timing and limits)
Official pages were checked on September 30, 2026 and may change. Statements attributed to GOV.UK are paraphrased except where quoted. This article is not endorsed by UK Visas and Immigration or the Home Office.