Tuition fee deposits for international master’s students

If you’re an international student starting a full-time master’s course, you’ll need to pay a tuition fee deposit before we can issue your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).

Your CAS is an essential document you’ll need when applying for your Student Visa. The deposit will count towards your tuition fees when you register.

Good to know: you don’t need to pay a tuition fee deposit if you’re applying for a research-based programme such as a PhD, MPhil or MSc by Research.

Read more about Visa guidance.

Who doesn't need to pay the deposit?

You won’t need to pay the deposit if you can provide evidence that: 

  • your tuition fees are fully funded by a third-party sponsor (a research council, charity, international company, the British Council or another international organisation);
  • you’re applying for a US student loan that covers the full cost of the tuition fees; 
  • you’re taking an English language pre-sessional course at The University of Manchester.

If your tuition fees are paid by a third-party external sponsor, you’ll need to download and complete our letter template (Word, 66KB) and email to tuitionfees@manchester.ac.uk.

We can only accept sponsorship letters from recognised sponsors (such as overseas governments, international companies, universities, trusts and charities) not from friends or family members. 

Find more information for sponsored students (Word, 487KB).

Students with University of Manchester scholarships

If you’ve been awarded a full tuition fee scholarship by The University of Manchester, you don’t need to pay the deposit. This will be waived automatically once you’ve accepted your scholarship.

If your scholarship covers only part of your tuition fees, you’ll still need to either: 

  • pay the deposit; or
  • provide a sponsorship letter from a recognised sponsor confirming they will fund the remaining tuition fees. 

How much you need to pay

The minimum deposit is £2,500. You can pay up to the full tuition fee for your programme if you wish.

When and how to pay

You can only pay your tuition fee deposit once your offer is unconditional. 

If you have more than one unconditional offer, you should decide which programme you want to accept before paying the deposit for that programme. 

Your admissions team will contact you directly to let you know when and how to make the payment.

Paying in instalments

We recommend making one payment of at least £2,500 (up to the full tuition fee amount) whenever possible. This helps us issue your CAS quickly and ensures the amount you’ve paid appears correctly on it.

If you make additional payments later, we’ll update your CAS to include them. However, this may cause a short delay, and you should wait for your updated CAS statement before submitting your visa application.

Receipts

If you pay online via the applicant portal, you can print a receipt when the payment is made and view it in the portal. Your payment will also appear on your CAS, which you’ll need for your Student Visa application.

Refunds

You may be eligible for a refund if your visa application is refused, provided that the refusal wasn’t due to fraudulent documents being used in your visa application.

To request a refund, please contact the admissions team that is processing your application.

Deferring your entry

If your School or Department Admissions Team agrees to your request to defer, you may do so without paying a deposit. 

If you’ve already paid the deposit and then decide to defer, your payment will be carried over and used towards your tuition fees for the new entry year.

If the CAS deposit increases for your new entry year, you’ll need to pay the difference before your new CAS can be issued.

Offer acceptance deposits

Some programmes ask for an acceptance deposit to confirm your offer and secure your place on the programme. If this applies to you, it will be clearly stated in your offer letter.

The acceptance deposit counts towards your CAS deposit, if:

  • your programme’s CAS deposit is the same or lower than the acceptance deposit, you don’t need to pay extra;
  • your programme’s CAS deposit is higher than the acceptance deposit, you’ll need to pay the difference before we can issue your CAS.