Coming to the UK to study

In this part of the website we cannot cover all the issues affecting students coming to the UK, but we aim to look at a few tax and National Insurance issues and clarify where you might not need to worry about UK tax on income and/or gains in other countries.

This first page provides some pointers on:

• Immigration requirements

• Paying UK tax as an international student

• VAT refunds if you do not come from an EC country

And the subsequent pages look at:

• Working while studying

• Returning home

What are the immigration requirements for international students?

Immigration requirements can be complex dependent upon where you are coming from. We recommend that you consult the website of the UK Council for International Student Affairs to check the requirements for your part of the world.

Paying UK tax as an international student

When you arrive in a new country to study, it can be difficult to understand what rules you need to follow, especially about areas that can seem complicated, such as tax. Many students pay more tax in the UK than the law requires.

There are number of ways that international students may get support for themselves whilst studying in the UK:

• scholarships or bursaries

• family gifts

• personal savings accumulated before arrival in the UK

In most circumstances such support will not be taxable in the UK and can be ignored.

Many international students find work in the UK and pay tax on their UK earnings as will any UK student – see ‘Working while studying’ below.

To see the rules for such UK work then please refer to our main section on students. There are rare occasions where double taxation agreements (see below) allow income earned in the UK to be ignored.

However as an international student in the UK you may have sources of income or gains arising outside the UK (this could be, for example, from working back home in the vacations, letting out a property, or from interest on a bank account).

In ordinary circumstances this could create a tax problem in the UK, but for most international students of modest means this is not a problem because of double taxation agreements entered into by the UK with the countries listed below:

If you come from one of these countries then you will not need to pay tax on any income and gains that arise outside the UK which you bring to the UK for your maintenance or for your education.

Money is for your maintenance if it is used to fund your normal living expenses while you are in the UK. For example, money brought to the UK to pay for food and accommodation would all be ‘for your maintenance’ and money needed to buy materials for your studies such as books would be ‘for your education’.

Bringing money to the UK to invest would not be either ‘for your maintenance or for your education’.

In practice if you bring £15,000 or less to the UK in a tax year the tax authorities would expect that money to be for your maintenance. Money which is used to pay your course fees does not count towards this £15,000 limit, so can be brought to the UK in addition to it.

If you bring all of your income and gains from overseas to the UK for your maintenance while you are a student, then you do not need to read the rest of this page, apart from the VAT section at the end.

What happens if the situations described above do not apply to you?

If the situations above do not apply to you it is likely that one of the following situations apply:

• you have income or gains overseas which you bring to the UK but you come from a country which has no international agreement with the UK;

• you have income and gains overseas and you bring some of them to the UK, but leave the balance of the income or gains overseas;

• you have income or gains overseas which you bring to the UK for reasons other than your maintenance or course fees.

In these circumstances you will probably need to take professional advice and consider the detailed provisions of HMRC guidance and the rules relating to domicile and residence which apply to people coming to the UK to work or live.

You might need to consider them even if you are only intending to stay for a short or finite period while you study. As an introduction to the possible complications, read our general guide for migrants on income and gains outside the UK.

Back to the top

Getting VAT refunded on things you buy if you do not come from an European Community (EC) country

When you visit the UK you will pay VAT on most things you buy. But there is a scheme allowing you to claim back the VAT you have been charged on most of the goods you take out of the UK.

The scheme is normally advertised in UK shops as Tax Free Shopping. Not all shops operate the scheme so look for shops displaying a Tax Free Shopping sign or ask a shop assistant before you buy.

You will qualify for the refund scheme if you are:

• an overseas student - if you are studying in the UK you can use the scheme only if you are leaving the EC for a minimum period of 12 months - this will typically be at the end of your study period;
• your place of residence is not in the EC (although you may qualify if you are leaving the EC for at least 12 months);
• you intend to leave the UK for somewhere outside the EC with the goods by the last day of the third month following the month when you purchased the goods e.g. goods purchased on 1 Sep must be exported by 31 December - you produce the VAT refund form and receipts together with the goods to Customs at your point of departure from the EC.

The scheme does not include a number of items including more commonly:

• mail order goods including those purchased over the internet;
• goods for consumption in the EC, for example, perfume which is wholly or partly consumed in the EC;
• goods to be exported as freight apart from antiques;
• goods needing an export licence.

When you buy the goods the retailer will ask you for proof that you are entitled to use the scheme. You will normally be asked to produce your passport although you may be asked for another form of identification. They will then ask you to fill in a simple refund form.

The main thing to remember is that you need to have one of these forms to make your claim - you cannot just present the till or online purchase receipt.

If you are:

• leaving the UK direct for a destination outside the EC, you must show your goods and refund form to UK Customs at the airport/port you are leaving from; or
• leaving the EC via another EC country, you must show your goods and refund form to Customs staff of that country; or
• leaving the EC on a transit flight via another EC member state, you must show Customs in the last EC country your refund form and any goods you have as hand baggage. You must show Customs in the UK your refund form and any goods to be carried in the hold of the aircraft.

After Customs have certified your form you can get your refund by:

• posting the form to the retailer from whom you bought the goods; or
• posting the form to a commercial refund company; or
• handing your form in at a refund booth to get immediate payment.

Customs are not responsible for making the refund so when you buy the goods ask the retailer how the refund will be paid. If you do not receive your refund within a reasonable period of time you should contact the retailer concerned, not HM Revenue & Customs.

Back to the top