Full guide: Education Loan for UK lenders, rates, eligibility and documents in one place.
UK Education Loan Compared: SBI, ICICI, HDFC Credila and Prodigy Finance
Students asking for the best UK education loan usually want one name. There is no honest single answer, because the cheapest lender is often the one that asks for property, and the one that asks for no property usually costs more. What can be done is to line up the published terms of the four lenders most often considered, which are the State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, HDFC Credila and Prodigy Finance, show what the differences mean in rupees, and explain which kind of student each one suits.
Every rate quoted is a starting point from the lender's own page as seen on 31 October this year, not an offer. Rates on education loans are mostly floating, and the rate a student receives depends on the profile, the university and the amount. A UK education loan should be judged on the full sanction letter, not on the headline rate.
What does a UK education loan have to cover?
The Home Office sets the minimum money a student must show. The GOV.UK page on money for a Student visa says a student needs enough for the first academic year of the course fee, plus living costs of £1,529 a month for up to nine months in London or £1,171 a month outside London. The funds must have been held for at least 28 days in a row. The visa fee is £558, and the healthcare surcharge for students is £776 a year.
At an assumed planning rate of ₹110 to the pound, which is not a live rate, living costs for nine months come to about ₹15.1 lakh in London and ₹11.6 lakh elsewhere. Add the visa fee of about ₹61,000 and the surcharge of about ₹85,000. A UK education loan therefore needs to cover tuition plus roughly ₹13 to 17 lakh of mandatory costs before flights, insurance or a deposit for housing.
How do the four lenders compare?
| Lender | Starting rate on the lender's page | Collateral-free route | Fee stated |
|---|---|---|---|
| SBI Global Ed-Vantage | 9.65 percent with collateral; 9.15 percent with collateral at select institutions | Up to ₹50 lakh at select institutions, at 9.65 percent | 0.50 percent of the loan, minimum ₹10,000, maximum ₹50,000, plus goods and services tax (GST) |
| ICICI Bank | From 9.00 percent secured, from 10.25 percent unsecured, indicative, for study abroad | Unsecured loans offered | Not stated on the page |
| HDFC Credila | From 9.95 percent secured, from 11.25 percent unsecured | Unsecured loans offered | Origination fee up to 1.25 percent plus GST |
| Prodigy Finance | From 10.90 percent variable | No collateral and no co-signer advertised | 4.2 percent administration fee in its example, plus a processing fee of 500 US dollars (USD) |
The figures differ in kind. SBI and ICICI are banks, Credila is a non-banking finance company, and Prodigy is an international lender whose loans are shown in US dollars. Comparing a UK education loan across them on the starting rate alone ignores fees, currency and conditions.
What does SBI offer for a UK education loan?
SBI's rate card effective 15 October 2026 lists the Global Ed-Vantage scheme at 9.65 percent for loans with collateral from above ₹7.5 lakh up to ₹3 crore. At select institutions the scheme shows 9.65 percent without collateral for loans from above ₹7.5 lakh up to ₹50 lakh, and 9.15 percent with collateral. The rates are linked to an external benchmark and are floating.
The scheme covers regular full-time courses in the United Kingdom among other countries, and SBI states that sanction and disbursement can happen before the visa. The processing fee is 0.50 percent of the loan, with a minimum of ₹10,000 and a maximum of ₹50,000, plus GST. Simple interest is charged during the course and the moratorium, the repayment holiday, and the accrued interest is then added to the principal. Whether a particular UK university is on the select list has to be checked on SBI's list before a UK education loan is priced.
What does ICICI Bank offer?
The ICICI Bank education loan page lists loans up to ₹3 crore for international and domestic studies, and indicative starting rates for study abroad of 9.00 percent for secured loans and 10.25 percent for unsecured loans. It describes repayment of up to 15 years and states that there are no foreclosure charges.
The page says the rate varies with the applicant or co-applicant profile, the institution category and the course. It does not give a fee schedule, so ask for the processing fee in writing. It also names pre-admission sanction on entrance scores as one basis on which a loan can be sanctioned.
What does HDFC Credila offer?
HDFC Credila lists on its home page secured loans from 9.95 percent and unsecured loans from 11.25 percent, both floating, and an origination fee of up to 1.25 percent plus GST of the loan amount.
The page shows the maximum loan amount as having no limit, with conditions, and lists the United Kingdom among study-abroad destinations. Rates and approvals are at the lender's discretion and can change without notice, so a quoted starting rate is not a promise.
Does Credila charge for prepayment?
The company's rates and charges page states that foreclosure fees are nil and that prepayments can be made without any prepayment charges.
A student should still read the sanction letter, because it lists the charges that apply to that particular loan, and ask the lender to confirm the prepayment terms in writing.
What does Prodigy Finance offer?
Prodigy Finance describes master's loans for international students, with variable rates from 10.90 percent and the claim that no collateral and no co-signer are needed. Its worked example shows a USD 40,000 loan with an administration fee of USD 1,680, which is 4.2 percent, added to the loan on disbursement, and a USD 500 processing fee payable before the loan is advanced.
Two points matter for UK students. First, the amounts on the page are in US dollars, so a student taking a UK education loan from Prodigy and paying tuition in pounds and repaying from an Indian salary carries two currency risks, and the page does not say how a UK-bound loan is denominated. Second, the page invites students to join the waitlist for next year's Fall intake, so a lender that looks attractive for a January start next year may not be available in time.
What do the differences mean in rupees?
Take a UK education loan of ₹40 lakh repaid over ten years in equal monthly instalments, and ignore the moratorium for simplicity. The table uses starting rates from the lenders above, which are not offers.
| Starting rate | Monthly instalment | Total interest over 10 years |
|---|---|---|
| 9.65 percent | About ₹52,088 | About ₹22.5 lakh |
| 10.25 percent | About ₹53,416 | About ₹24.1 lakh |
| 11.25 percent | About ₹55,668 | About ₹26.8 lakh |
The gap between the lowest and highest rate is about ₹3,600 a month and about ₹4.3 lakh over the term. Fees add to the picture. A fee of 1.25 percent on ₹40 lakh is ₹50,000 before GST, against ₹20,000 at 0.50 percent. Such a one-time fee is small next to the rate difference over ten years, but it falls due early.
What should a UK education loan sanction cover?
A sanction letter that matches the visa rules saves trouble. The first-year course fee, living costs for the months the Home Office counts, the visa fee and the healthcare surcharge are the four fixed lines. Flights, travel insurance and a housing deposit come on top.
Ask the lender whether the sanction is for the full course or year by year, whether tuition is paid directly to the university, and how living costs are released. A UK education loan that is sanctioned in full but disbursed in stages costs less in interest than one drawn in one go, because interest runs on the amount released.
Which kind of student suits which lender?
These are patterns for a UK education loan, not recommendations.
- A student with property to pledge and a university on SBI's select list can look at the lower collateral-backed rates.
- A student seeking an unsecured UK education loan can compare the unsecured routes at ICICI and Credila, where the starting rates are higher.
- A master's student who cannot use an Indian co-applicant may look at Prodigy Finance, with the currency and fee points above.
- A student on a tight visa timeline should ask each lender for a written timeline. ICICI's page says processing can take a few working days once documents are complete, while the others publish no firm turnaround.
Confirm any such choice with the lender, because eligibility depends on the course, the university and the family's papers.
Does the UK Graduate visa affect repayment planning?
The GOV.UK Student visa page states that the Graduate visa allows a stay of two years for applications made on or before 31 December this year, and 18 months for applications made on or after 1 January next year. A graduate who applies on or after that date is covered by the shorter period.
Repayment normally begins within a year of the course ending, so a student cannot assume that a UK salary will carry the loan for long. It is a reason to prefer a lender that allows interest payments during the course and penalty-free prepayment, and to size the UK education loan with a return to India in mind.
Common questions about a UK education loan
Which lender has the lowest rate for a UK education loan?
For a UK education loan, on published starting rates, SBI's collateral-backed rates are lowest, followed by ICICI's secured rate. Final rates depend on the profile.
Can I get a UK education loan without collateral?
Yes, from several lenders, including ICICI and Credila, and at SBI for select institutions up to ₹50 lakh. Prodigy Finance advertises no collateral and no co-signer for master's students.
Do I need to pay a fee to apply?
The pages show processing or origination fees at sanction. Prodigy also shows a USD 500 processing fee before the loan is advanced.
Can I prepay a UK education loan?
Credila and ICICI state no prepayment or foreclosure charges. Under the Reserve Bank of India's Pre-payment Charges on Loans Directions, 2025, lenders must not levy pre-payment charges on floating-rate loans to individuals for non-business purposes, for loans sanctioned or renewed on or after 1 January this year.
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