Six destinations handle nearly all international study applications, and each destination runs its own visa route with its own money rules, work limits and post-study offer. Comparing student visas before you apply protects a full admissions cycle, because a route that fits your budget and career plan in Canada may fail both tests in Australia. Rules also change mid-cycle: Australia raised its student visa charge twice in twelve months, and the United Kingdom shortens its post-study route from January 2027. This guide sets the six main routes side by side, then walks through the application sequence and refusal reasons every route shares. Figures below come from official immigration pages, and the government source decides the rule if a university page disagrees.
The Main Student Visa Routes at a Glance
The six routes differ most on four points: the money an applicant must prove, the paid work a student may do, the office that decides the case, and the work route open after graduation. One table cannot hold every condition, yet the table below captures the headline terms an applicant compares first. Students who stop at the headline terms get caught later, so read the country sections after the table for the conditions attached to each figure. A master’s applicant in London, for example, meets a higher monthly funds figure than a master’s applicant in Manchester, inside the same UK route.
| Destination | Visa route | Financial proof | Work rights in term time | Application route | Post-study option |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | F-1 visa | Funds for the first year, as recorded on Form I-20; no single national minimum | On-campus work only, up to 20 hours a week | Consular interview after Form I-20 and the SEVIS fee | OPT (Optional Practical Training) for 12 months; 36 months for STEM degrees |
| United Kingdom | Student visa | First-year course fees plus £1,529 a month in London or £1,171 a month elsewhere, up to 9 months, held for 28 days | 20 hours a week on a degree-level course | Online application built on a CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) | Graduate visa for 2 years; 18 months for applications from 1 January 2027 |
| Canada | Study permit | CAD 22,895 for living costs, plus first-year tuition and travel | 24 hours a week off campus | Online application to IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) with a PAL or TAL attestation letter | PGWP (Post-Graduation Work Permit) for up to 3 years |
| Australia | Student visa (subclass 500) | AUD 29,710 a year in living costs, plus course fees and travel | 48 hours a fortnight | Online application through ImmiAccount, built on a CoE (Confirmation of Enrolment) | Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) |
| Germany | National visa for study (type D) | €11,904 a year, usually held in a blocked account | 140 full days or 280 half days a year | Embassy or Consular Services Portal; residence permit issued after arrival | Residence permit for up to 18 months to seek qualified work |
| France | Long-stay student visa (VLS-TS) | €615 a month for the stay | 964 hours a year | France-Visas portal; Campus France procedure in listed countries | One-year job-search residence permit for master’s graduates |
United States: The F-1 Visa
The F-1 visa covers full-time academic study at a school certified by SEVP (the Student and Exchange Visitor Program), and a consular officer decides the application at an interview. Everything starts with admission, because the school issues Form I-20 only after it accepts the student and records funding for the first year. Two government fees follow: the I-901 SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) fee of $350 and the visa application fee of $185. No fixed national bank balance exists for the F-1; instead, the officer tests whether the funding on the I-20 is real and available. Work rights stay narrow during study, with on-campus employment capped at 20 hours a week and off-campus work barred in the first academic year. Graduation opens OPT (Optional Practical Training) for 12 months, plus a 24-month extension for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) degrees, so a computer science graduate can work for 36 months in total. Non-immigrant intent drives most decisions, and an applicant who cannot show a credible plan and ties outside the United States risks refusal under section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
United Kingdom: The Student Visa
The UK Student visa requires a CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) from a licensed sponsor, proof of funds held for 28 consecutive days, and an IHS (Immigration Health Surcharge) payment of £776 for each year of the visa. Funding follows a formula: unpaid first-year course fees plus living costs of £1,529 a month in London or £1,171 a month elsewhere, counted for up to 9 months. Even one day below the required balance inside the 28 days breaks the rule, so a student in Leeds must hold £10,539 plus the unpaid fees without a single dip. GOV.UK lists the application fee at £558 for applications from outside the United Kingdom. Degree-level students may work 20 hours a week in term time and full time in vacations, while students below degree level get 10 hours. Post-study work runs through the Graduate visa: 2 years for applications made on or before 31 December 2026, 18 months for applications from 1 January 2027, and 3 years for doctoral graduates. Maintenance figures also rise on 30 November 2026, to £1,570 a month in London and £1,203 a month elsewhere, so the date on the application decides which pair applies.
Canada: The Study Permit
Canada issues a study permit rather than a visa, and an applicant needs an acceptance letter from a DLI (designated learning institution) plus a PAL or TAL (provincial or territorial attestation letter) under the national cap system. Money rules changed recently: a single applicant outside Quebec must show CAD 22,895 for living costs on applications filed on or after 1 September 2025, in addition to first-year tuition and travel costs. Evidence carries weight in Canada, and four months of bank statements, a GIC (Guaranteed Investment Certificate) or an approved education loan all satisfy IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) if the funds are genuinely available. A diploma student in Ontario, for example, files tuition receipts beside statements that show the CAD 22,895 already in place. During term, permit holders may work off campus for up to 24 hours a week, a limit raised from 20 hours in November 2024. Graduation leads to a PGWP (Post-Graduation Work Permit) lasting up to 3 years, with the exact length tied to the program length and level. Biometrics and a medical exam apply to many applicants, and both steps add weeks if booked late.
Australia: The Student Visa (Subclass 500)
The subclass 500 visa covers every study sector in Australia, and the Department of Home Affairs decides applications online through ImmiAccount against a CoE (Confirmation of Enrolment) from a CRICOS-registered provider (Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students). Costs climbed sharply in this cycle. Home Affairs charges a base application fee of AUD 2,500 for applications lodged from 1 July 2026, and the financial capacity test asks for AUD 29,710 a year in living costs, plus 12 months of course fees and travel. Applicants must also hold OSHC (Overseas Student Health Cover) for the full stay and meet the Genuine Student requirement, a set of short answers that replaced the older Genuine Temporary Entrant statement in March 2024. Answers that read like a migration plan fail the test, so a nursing student in Brisbane explains the course, the home-country gap the course fills and the career the course serves. Work rights allow 48 hours a fortnight while the course is in session and unlimited hours in scheduled breaks. Finishing graduates move to the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485), which grants 2 years after a bachelor’s or master’s degree and 3 years after a doctorate.
Germany: The National Visa for Study
Germany handles long study stays through a national type D visa for entry, followed by a residence permit for study issued by the local foreigners authority after arrival. Admission comes first for most applicants, since the visa file rests on a university acceptance letter or a place in a preparatory course. Proof of funding takes a distinctive form: a blocked account (Sperrkonto) holding €11,904 for the first year, which releases €992 a month after the student arrives and registers. The visa fee is €75 for adults, and processing at busy missions stretches across several months, so the Federal Foreign Office advises filing early. Holders of United States passports sit in a privileged group: citizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and several other states enter without a visa and apply for the residence permit inside Germany. A master’s student in Munich therefore books the foreigners authority appointment before the semester starts, not after it. Employment rights are generous by European standards, at 140 full days or 280 half days a year without separate agency approval. After graduation, the residence permit extends for up to 18 months while the graduate seeks qualified work, and any job may be taken during the search.
France: The Schengen Long-Stay Study Visa
France issues the VLS-TS (visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour), a long-stay visa that also serves as a residence permit for the first year once the holder validates the visa online after arrival. Short courses under 90 days fall under the ordinary Schengen rules, while any degree program needs the long-stay route. Applicants in listed countries pass first through the Études en France procedure run by Campus France, which checks academic documents before the visa appointment. Financial proof stands at €615 a month for the planned stay, shown through bank statements, a scholarship letter or a guarantor based in France. The long-stay student visa fee is €99, collected at the application centre. A language student in Lyon on a nine-month program, for instance, evidences €5,535 across the stay. Students may work 964 hours a year, roughly 60 percent of a full-time schedule, without a separate work permit. Master’s graduates can then request a one-year job-search residence permit, which converts into a standard work permit once a qualifying job contract is signed. Neighbouring Schengen states run similar national long-stay study visas, but each state sets its own funds figure and fee, so the French numbers do not transfer to Spain or Italy.
The Application Sequence Every Route Shares
All six student visas follow the same sequence: admission first, funds evidence second, government application third, and a decision before any non-refundable travel booking. Order matters because each document leads to the next one, and a missing link stalls the whole file. Work through the steps in this order:
- Secure admission and receive the route document: Form I-20, a CAS, an acceptance letter with a PAL or TAL, a CoE, a German university letter or a Campus France clearance.
- Assemble financial evidence in the exact format the route demands, and observe any holding period before filing.
- Pay the government fees the route charges, including health surcharges and service fees.
- File the application through the official channel, online or at an application centre, and attend biometrics or an interview if the route requires one.
- Complete health checks and insurance: a medical exam for Canada if required, OSHC for Australia, the IHS for the United Kingdom.
- Wait for the decision, check every detail on the granted visa or permit, and only then book travel.
Timelines differ sharply across the six routes. A UK application filed outside the United Kingdom usually receives a decision within 3 weeks of biometrics, while a German national visa can take several months at a busy mission. Starting the file six months before the intake absorbs both extremes.
Why Student Visas Get Refused
Most refusals trace back to money evidence, doubtful study intent, or a file that contradicts itself, and each of the three causes is preventable. Officers refuse files every intake for the same repeat reasons:
- Funds fall short of the published figure, sit in the account for too few days, or arrive as one unexplained lump sum.
- The study plan reads as a migration plan, so the Genuine Student answers, the US interview or the UK credibility interview sink the case.
- Documents conflict: the I-20 funding, the bank statements and the sponsor letter name three different amounts.
- The course choice makes no academic sense against the applicant’s history, with no explanation in the file.
- An earlier refusal, overstay or false document in any country stays undeclared.
Honesty compounds across borders here. Five Eyes partners and Schengen states share immigration data, so a refusal in one system often surfaces in another. A student refused in Canada in 2025 who hides the refusal in a 2026 Australian file risks a far longer ban than the original refusal carried.
FAQs
Which student visa is the cheapest to apply for?
Germany charges the lowest government fee, €75 for an adult national visa. France charges €99. Fees exclude health cover and funds evidence, which cost far more than any application fee.
Can I work full time on a student visa during holidays?
Yes, in the United Kingdom and Australia, where term-time caps lift during scheduled course breaks. Canada allows full-time work in scheduled breaks too. Germany counts days instead, at 140 full days a year.
Do student visas let me bring my partner and children?
Rules differ sharply. The United Kingdom restricts dependants mainly to research postgraduates, Canada ties spousal work permits to program level, and Australia tightened family inclusion in October 2026. Check the route rules before applying.
How much money must I show for a Canada study permit?
A single applicant outside Quebec shows CAD 22,895 for living costs, plus first-year tuition and travel, for applications filed on or after 1 September 2025. Quebec sets a separate, higher amount.
Is an interview part of every student visa process?
No. Only the United States interviews nearly every F-1 applicant in person. Other routes decide on documents, with interviews used selectively, such as UK credibility interviews or Australian verification calls.
Which country gives the longest post-study work rights?
Canada grants a Post-Graduation Work Permit of up to 3 years, matching a UK doctoral Graduate visa. US STEM graduates reach 36 months through OPT plus the STEM extension.
Can a scholarship count as proof of funds?
Yes. Every route accepts an official scholarship letter as financial evidence for the amount the scholarship covers. Any gap between the award and the required total still needs bank evidence or an approved loan.
Conclusion
Pick the route by total evidence, not by headline fee: your funds, your work needs during term and your post-study target decide the right destination. Check the figures on the official immigration page for your chosen route on the day you file, because student visas change fees and thresholds faster than any other visa class.
