Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS)

Payment eligibility

The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is payable in full at the point that you submit your Student Visa application.

In certain circumstances you may be eligible for a refund of some or all of the amount you pay, this includes:

• If you pay twice or if you have any overlapping payments as the result of applying to extend your visa part way through your course
• Your visa application is refused
• You withdraw your visa application before you receive a decision.

If any of the above apply to you then you should automatically receive the relevant refund within six weeks of your visa application being decided/withdrawn. Funds will be sent to the account which was used to make the initial payment. If you do not receive the funds into that account within six weeks, please contact the International Student Advice team for assistance.

Further information on IHS refunds can be found on the GOV.UK pages.

IHS refunds for EU and Swiss students in the UK

If you are a full-time student from an EU country or Switzerland and you applied for a Student Visa in order to study in the UK then you may be eligible to have some or all of your IHS refunded. If your family members applied as your dependents on the Student Visa then they could be eligible too.

In order to apply for the refund you must:

• Have a valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) issued in an EU country or Switzerland
• Have not worked and do not intend to work in the UK.

How do I apply for the refund?

Applications for the IHS refund will open on 1 January 2022 but will be backdated to include any time you’ve spent in the UK on your current Student Visa*.

*If you are from Switzerland your refund will only be backdated from 1 November 2021.

How much of a refund am I entitled to receive?

The amount of refund you will receive depends on the validity of your EHIC. For example, if your EHIC is valid for the full duration of your visa, then you would receive a full refund. If your EHIC is only valid for some of the duration of your visa, you would receive a proportional refund.

What happens if I receive the IHS refund and then later decide to work in the UK?

Your EHIC is only valid in the UK if you do not undertake any work. Therefore, working in the UK will invalidate your EHIC and leave you unable to access free healthcare via the NHS while you are here. You can find out more about NHS charges via the Citizens Advice Bureau.

We recommend that students who have or want to claim the IHS refund discuss any plans to work with the International Student Advice team.