Can Your Family Afford UK Study? A Framework for Running Your Own Numbers
Nobody can tell you whether your family can afford this from a website. What we can do is give you the arithmetic, honestly, including the parts most consultancies leave out.
By Rahul Chhetri, Director, House of Admissions · Updated 20 Oct 2026
A one-year UK master’s costs a Nepali family roughly NPR 50 to 70 lakhs all-in — tuition, the £1,722 visa and health surcharge, living costs, flights, and the Nepal-side NOC and 3% education tax. Maintenance of £10,539 must additionally be evidenced, though it is spent on living rather than lost. Work out your own figure before you talk to anyone selling you something.
This page is the arithmetic only — no persuasion either way. For the wider picture aimed at parents see the parents’ guide; for funding routes see education loans and scholarships. For the line-by-line figures, see the total cost of a UK degree in NPR.
- Realistic all-in, one-year master’s
- NPR 50–70 lakhs
- Tuition
- £14,000–£22,000 (NPR 27–43 lakhs)
- Visa fee + health surcharge
- £1,722 (NPR ~3.36 lakhs)
- Maintenance to evidence
- £10,539, rising to £10,827 on 30 Nov 2026
- Nepal-side
- NOC NPR 2,000 + 3% education tax on tuition sent
- Part-time earnings
- ~£1,017/month at 20 hours — help, not funding
- Exchange rate used
- NPR 195 to the pound (Nepal Rastra Bank reference)
What Is the Real All-In Figure?
Most published figures quote tuition and stop. Here is what a family actually pays for a one-year master’s, at the Nepal Rastra Bank reference rate of NPR 195 to the pound.
| Item | GBP | NPR | Often left out? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition | £14,000–£22,000 | 27–43 lakhs | No |
| Visa fee | £558 | ~1.09 lakhs | No |
| Health surcharge (IHS) | £1,164 | ~2.27 lakhs | Frequently |
| 3% education tax on tuition sent | — | ~0.8–1.3 lakhs | Almost always |
| MoEST NOC | — | 2,000 | Often |
| Flights and arrival costs | ~£2,000 | ~3.9 lakhs | Often |
| Living costs, one year | £10,539+ | 20.5 lakhs+ | Understated |
Figures converted at NPR 195 to the pound, the Nepal Rastra Bank reference rate. This is a reference rate, not a peg — the rate on the day you transfer will differ, and UKVI itself converts using the OANDA spot rate on your application date.
The Four Questions to Ask Yourselves
- What can you fund without borrowing? Savings, land sale, remittance, business income. Write the number down.
- What would you need to borrow, and on what terms? Nepali education loans carry real interest and usually need collateral above a threshold. Know the rate and the tenure, not just the sanctioned amount.
- What does the course realistically pay? Against the UK £41,700 Skilled Worker threshold, some subjects reach it and several do not. Check by subject.
- What happens if the visa is refused? The visa fee and surcharge are gone. Ask the university about its deposit refund policy before paying.
Twenty hours a week at the 2026 National Minimum Wage of £12.71 is about £1,017 a month — roughly NPR 1.98 lakhs. That is genuine help with living costs. It is not a way to fund tuition, and a financial plan that depends on it is a plan that fails in the first term. UKVI knows this, which is why the maintenance requirement exists at all.
When Is the Honest Answer No?
When funding it requires borrowing against the family home for a course whose graduates do not reliably clear the salary threshold, the answer is no, or not yet. There is no shame in that and it is not a permanent verdict. A scholarship application, a cheaper university, a different subject, or two years of working first all change the arithmetic. We would rather tell you this now than process an application we do not believe in.
Want us to run your numbers with you?Send us the course and what your family can fund. We will give you the real all-in figure and tell you honestly if we think it does not add up.
Free WhatsApp checkFrequently Asked Questions
Realistically NPR 50 to 70 lakhs all-in for a one-year master’s: tuition, the £1,722 visa fee and health surcharge, living costs, flights, and the Nepal-side NOC and 3% education tax. Quoted figures often include only tuition.
The £1,164 Immigration Health Surcharge and the 3% education tax on tuition sent from Nepal are the two most commonly omitted. Flights and arrival costs are often missing too.
No — it must be evidenced before the visa and is then spent on living costs during the year. It is not an additional payment on top, but it must genuinely exist and be held for 28 consecutive days.
No. Twenty hours a week at £12.71 an hour is about £1,017 a month — real help with living costs, but not tuition funding. A plan that depends on it fails in the first term.
It is a legitimate route and widely used in Nepal. Know the interest rate, the tenure, the collateral requirement and the moratorium period before signing, and weigh them against what the course realistically pays. Education loans in Nepal.
The visa fee and health surcharge are not refunded. Tuition deposits depend on university policy — many refund on evidenced visa refusal, but confirm before paying rather than after.
When it requires borrowing against the family home for a course whose graduates do not reliably clear the £41,700 salary threshold. That is a “not yet” rather than a “never” — scholarships, a cheaper university or a different subject all change the arithmetic.
Tuition still owed plus up to nine months of living costs, held for 28 days: £1,171 a month outside London or £1,529 in London, rising to £1,203 and £1,570 for applications from 30 November 2026.
Get this checked before you submit — free
Most refusals from Nepal come from paperwork, not from weak profiles. We check every document against the UKVI and MoEST requirements before you pay a fee. House of Admissions is free to students at every stage — we are paid by universities after enrolment, never by you.
Apply free WhatsApp a counsellorRelated Guides
Where Does This Information Come From?
- UKVI — Financial evidence for Student and Child Student route applicants
- GOV.UK — National Minimum Wage rates
- Nepal Rastra Bank — reference exchange rate
- House of Admissions casework, 2016–2026 (self-reported)
Last updated 20 Oct 2026. Nepali foreign-exchange rules and MoEST procedure change by circular and are not always announced in English — confirm current figures with your bank or at noc.moest.gov.np before you rely on them. Nothing here is immigration or financial advice; for a decision on your own case, consult a regulated adviser.