Canada and the UK are the two most-compared destinations for international students after the US, and both governments have spent the last two years tightening their systems in ways that change the calculation for 2026 applicants. Canada capped the number of study permits it issues; the UK confirmed it is cutting the length of its main post-study work visa from January 2027. If you’re weighing the two, the numbers you find online may already be out of date — here’s what each route actually requires right now, sourced directly from IRCC and gov.uk.
This is preparation guidance, not immigration advice — figures below carry the date they were checked, and both governments review them periodically, so confirm the live number before you commit to an application.
The quick comparison (2026)
| 🇨🇦 Canada (Study Permit) | 🇬🇧 UK (Student visa) | |
|---|---|---|
| Visa application fee | CAD 150 | £558 (from outside the UK) |
| Living-cost funds (single, per year) | ~CAD 20,635 (reviewed annually) | £1,171–£1,529/month, capped at 9 months |
| Work while studying (term-time) | Up to 24 hrs/week off-campus | Up to 20 hrs/week (degree level) |
| Post-study work route | PGWP — up to 3 years | Graduate Route — 2 years, cutting to 18 months from Jan 2027 |
| National intake control | Cap: 408,000 study permits for 2026 | No numerical cap, but a levy on institutions is under consultation |
| Study permit processing (example) | ~5 weeks for India applicants (live, updated weekly) | Typically 3 weeks from outside the UK |
Tuition: both are expensive, priced differently
International tuition isn’t set nationally in either country — it varies by institution and program — but the aggregate data shows the shape of each market. Statistics Canada’s most recent official release puts average international undergraduate tuition at CAD $41,746 a year and international graduate tuition at CAD $24,028 a year for 2025/26, both up modestly on the prior year. The UK doesn’t publish a single equivalent government average for the current cycle, but published ranges from UK universities run roughly £12,000–£38,000 a year for undergraduate courses and £13,000–£60,000+ for postgraduate taught programs, with the widest range driven by London, medicine, and a handful of research-intensive universities. In short: Canadian tuition clusters more tightly around a national average; UK tuition spreads much wider depending on which university and city you choose.
The visa application: cost and what you must show
On the application fee alone, Canada is cheaper: a study permit costs CAD $150, against £558 for a UK Student visa applied for from outside the UK (the UK also charges the Immigration Health Surcharge on top, which Canada has no equivalent of).
The bigger difference is how each country checks you can afford to be there. Canada asks for a single annual living-cost figure — around CAD $20,635 for a single applicant outside Quebec, reviewed annually — on top of your first year’s tuition and travel costs. The UK instead caps what it will count: £1,529 a month if you’re studying in London, £1,171 a month outside London, for a maximum of 9 months, held in your account for a continuous 28-day window before you apply. Neither test is about your total wealth — both want funds that are genuinely available and easy to trace, not a one-off deposit. See our proof-of-funds guide for how to evidence money so it actually counts toward either requirement.
Working while you study
The UK permits up to 20 hours a week of work during term-time for degree-level Student visa holders (10 hours for below-degree-level study), full-time during official vacations. Canada’s cap is higher at 24 hours a week off-campus during regular academic sessions, also unlimited during scheduled breaks. If part-time income while studying is a real factor in your budget, Canada’s extra 4 hours a week adds up over a full academic year — see our work-on-a-student-visa rules guide for the exact conditions and how both compare to the US and Australia.
National caps: how each government is rationing places
Canada now runs an explicit national cap — 408,000 total study permits for 2026 (155,000 new arrivals plus 253,000 extensions), down from 437,000 in 2025 and 485,000 in 2024. Most applicants need a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) from their province confirming their place counts against that province’s allocation before they can apply; as of January 1, 2026, master’s and doctoral applicants at public institutions are exempt from this requirement, but everyone else still needs one. Confirm your institution can issue a PAL before paying a deposit.
The UK has no equivalent numerical cap on international students, but it has tightened the system in other ways — the Genuine Student check on entry, the CAS requirement, and, most consequentially for 2027 applicants, a shorter post-study work window (below). A levy on universities’ international-student income has also been proposed and is under consultation as of 2026, which could feed into future fee increases rather than a hard admissions cap.
Post-study work: PGWP vs the Graduate Route — and the UK’s 2027 cut
This is where the two systems diverge most and where timing genuinely matters.
Canada’s Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) gives master’s degree graduates a flat 3-year open work permit regardless of how long the program took, as of a February 2024 rule change. Other eligible programs get a PGWP matching their program length, up to 3 years for programs of 2 years or longer. As of November 2024, most applicants must also meet a language-proficiency requirement to qualify. See our full PGWP guide for the exact program-length math.
The UK’s Graduate Route currently grants 2 years of unsponsored, open work rights to bachelor’s and master’s graduates (3 years for PhDs) — but that changes for anyone who applies on or after 1 January 2027, when the grant for bachelor’s and master’s graduates drops to 18 months. If you’re weighing a UK master’s that finishes in late 2026 or 2027, this single date can be worth planning your enrollment around. Full detail, including the fee and Immigration Health Surcharge, is in our UK Graduate Route guide.
Net effect for 2027 onward: Canada’s PGWP for a master’s graduate (3 years, flat) runs longer than the UK’s post-2027 Graduate Route (18 months) for the equivalent degree level — a meaningful difference if your goal is to convert study into several years of skilled work experience before deciding on permanent residence.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper overall — Canada or the UK? Application fees favor Canada narrowly, but total cost depends far more on tuition and city than on visa fees — a UK postgraduate course in London can cost more overall than a Canadian program in a mid-sized city, and vice versa for a low-cost Canadian program versus a modest UK university outside London.
Which has better odds of getting permanent residence afterward? Canada has more explicit PR pathways tied to study (Express Entry Canadian Experience Class, Provincial Nominee Programs) that reward Canadian work experience earned on a PGWP. The UK’s main routes to settlement run through Skilled Worker sponsorship after the Graduate Route ends, which depends on finding an employer willing to sponsor you — a less direct path than Canada’s points-based system.
Does the Canada cap mean I might be turned away even if I’m qualified? The cap limits how many PAL-required applications IRCC processes system-wide each year; a genuinely eligible applicant with a valid PAL can still be affected by how quickly their province allocates letters, so apply as early in the admissions cycle as your institution allows.
Can I switch between the two if my first choice doesn’t work out? Yes — nothing stops you from applying to both countries in parallel, and many students do exactly that given how much both systems have shifted recently. Just budget separately for each application, since fees and proof-of-funds evidence aren’t transferable between them.
Weighing Canada against the UK is exactly the kind of decision VisaMet’s eligibility tools are built for — join the waitlist to get early access to a side-by-side check against your own profile.
Sources: IRCC — 2026 provincial and territorial allocations under the international student cap, IRCC — About the Post-Graduation Work Permit, Statistics Canada — Tuition in Canada, 2025/2026, gov.uk — Graduate visa, gov.uk — Student visa.