Student visas

If you are joining a full-time, on-campus undergraduate or postgraduate course that is longer than six months, it is likely that you will need to apply for a Student Route visa to study in the UK.

You will also need this visa if you are joining a part-time postgraduate course, but you cannot work (including work placements) or have dependants.

You will not need a Student Route visa if you have different immigration permission that allows you to study. If you are not sure if your current immigration permission allows you to study, please contact the International Student Advice team.

Applying in the UK

If you are already in the UK on a Student Route visa or another visa category you may be able to extend your visa or switch into the Student Route in the UK.

You cannot switch into the Student Route if you are in the UK on a Standard Visitor or Short-term Student visa.

If the start date of your new course of studies (as stated on your CAS) is more than 28 days after the end of your current visa you must leave the UK and apply from your home country.

If you are eligible to apply in the UK you must apply before your current visa expires.

If you hold a Graduate Route visa you will need to be granted your Student Route visa before you can complete your registration with the University.

Applying in your own country

Eligibility

To be eligible for a student visa via the new Student Route, you must:

• have been offered a place on a course
• speak, read, write and understand English
• have a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from the University
• have enough money to support yourself and pay for your course (the amount will vary depending on your circumstances) 
• meet any other eligibility requirements

You will get a CAS once you have met all the academic and non-academic conditions of your offer. This will contain a unique number that you'll need to input on your visa application.

Check all the details on your CAS are correct as soon as you can. These include your name, date of birth, nationality and course details. If anything is incorrect, please email [email protected] to get your details corrected.

Finance

You will also need to show evidence that you have access to maintenance funds and evidence of funds to pay your tuition fees.

If this money is held in your bank account, it will need to be held there for 28 consecutive days, and you will need to provide your most recent bank statement (no older than 1 month old).

If your course lasts 9 months or less, you'll need to show that you have £1,171 per month for maintenance (living) costs. If your course lasts longer than 9 months, you will need to show that you have a total of at least £10,539.

For courses taught at the London campus, you will require £1,529 per month up to a maximum of 9 months (a total of £13,761 to cover living costs).

You do not need to have the funds listed in GBP. The statement can show your funds in your home currency, but please use a UKVI approved currency converter to check the amount in GBP.

Using your parents' or legal guardians' funds

If you are using your parents' or legal guardians' funds, you must provide:

• Your parents’ bank statement showing the required funds
• Your original Birth Certificate, showing yours and your parents' names
• A letter from your parents signed and dated confirming they are sponsoring you.

You can only use your parent's or legal guardians' bank account – you cannot show funds in the account of any other relatives such as grandparents, siblings or aunts and uncles or friends.

Official Financial Sponsorship

If your home government, the UK government, your university or officially recognised international company are sponsoring you, you can show an Official Financial Sponsorship Letter to cover some of your funds. If you are not being sponsored for the full amount of living costs, you will need to show the remaining funds in your bank account.

See the UKCISA Website for more details.

How to apply for a Student Route Visa

You must apply online for a Student Route Visa.

You may need to have your fingerprints and photograph taken at a visa application centre as part of your application. If you are an EU, EEA, Swiss national or hold BNO status, then you should be able to use the UK Immigration: ID Check app to do this..

You may be able to get your visa faster or other services depending on what country you are in – check with your visa application centre.

You may need to attend a short credibility interview as part of your application. If you are, make sure you request your transcript by Subject Access Request. You may need this as evidence if your visa application is refused.

Please make sure that you read about credibility interviews and prepare carefully. Be aware that you may need to be able to fully explain the research that you have done in other countries and their universities, as well as comparing courses and institutions in the UK.

Learn more about our UKVI Compliance procedures.

Cost and Processing times

It costs £558 for a standard application. Processing times start from the day of your visa application appointment and for a Standard application, normally take 3 weeks. It may take longer during the peak periods of June to September.

The prices are £1,058 for Priority service, normally processed within 5 working days, and £1,558 for the Super Priority service, normally processed by the end of the next working day.

These times are not guaranteed and if there are any complications in your application, they can take much longer. You will not receive a refund because there is a delay. 

These services are useful if you need to get your visa quickly, e.g. you have only received your CAS shortly before your registration deadline. You cannot use these services if you have previously been refused a visa.

You will also need to pay the compulsory Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) to access the NHS (National Health Service). This is currently £776 per person per year of the visa, or £388 for 6 months of the visa but can increase at any time. 

For example, if you are studying a 3-year course, you will need to pay £2,716 to cover the 3 years of study and the additional 1 month at the beginning and 4 months at end of your visa. If you are studying a course that is 12 months in duration you will need to pay £1,164 to cover the course plus the additional time at the beginning and end of your visa.

This is non-refundable after the visa decision has been made.  

The IHS fee is expensive, so make sure that you sign up to a GP and use the NHS services if you need them. 

Documents

You will need the following documents and items to submit your Student Visa application. You must provide clear scanned copies of the required documents.

• A valid passport
• Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)
• Your International English Language Test System (IELTS) certificate (if stated on your CAS)
• Your original qualification certificates and transcripts - you will not require the original qualifications/transcripts as stated on your CAS if you are studying at Bachelor degree level and above as the University is a Higher Education Provider with a Track Record of Compliance – we recommend that you have this information available if UKVI ask you to supply it
• Documents to prove you have the correct funds to cover living costs and tuition fees available in your or your parents' bank account
• An Official Financial Sponsor or a Student Loan letter (if applicable). Please see the Financial Evidence Requirement section on the Gov.Uk website for more information.
• Parental/guardian consent if you are under 18 from both parents or legal guardians (or one parent if they have sole responsibility) which includes their consent for your visa application, your living and care arrangements in the UK and your travel to the UK
• Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) clearance certificate if your course requires this
• Tuberculosis (TB) test results certificate, if you're from a country that requires this.

If a document is not in English or Welsh, you must provide a fully certified translation from a professional translator or translation company that can be independently verified by the Home Office. The translation must include all the following information: 

• confirmation that it is an accurate translation of the document
• the date of translation 
• the full name and signature of the translator 
• the translator or translation company’s contact details

E-Visas

Physical documents such as BRPs, and vignettes placed in your passport, have been replaced by a digital immigration permission known as an ‘eVisa’. More information about eVisas can be found on the UK Government Website. 

After you have registered for a UKVI account, your immigration permission (your eVisa) can be viewed through this account.

The part of the UKVI account where you can access your permission and learn how to share it with others is called ‘View and prove’.

We will ask you to share your 'Share Code' with us when you come to register at the University. 

When generating a share code for the University during Registration, you need to make sure that you generate a share code to 'prove your immigration status', and not a share code for 'right to work or rent'.

You should use this link to generate your share code.

If you fail to produce the requested proof, you are at risk of exclusion. 

Please note: 

• Your immigration status will be held within this account. You need an eVisa to work, travel and study
• UKVI will not ask you for money to set up an eVisa account. If you have any concerns that the email you receive is not genuine, contact the International Student Advisers
• If you cannot generate a share code, or any of the details on your eVisa are incorrect, you can request the corrections on the UK Government website.
• The UKCISA website also has helpful information about applying for an eVisa

It is more important than ever to keep all correspondence (emails and letters) you receive relating to your visa. This is so that you will be able to cross-check your eVisa with all the other information you have about the decision that was made in your case. 

It is important that you regularly check and keep all emails and other correspondence from UKVI (Home Office). You should also regularly check your ‘spam’ folder to see if emails from UKVI have gone there. Making regular checks is important while you are waiting for a decision from UKVI about your visa application. 

Step by step guides to help you: 

• UKVI have created some step by step video guides explaining what an eVisa is, how to access your eVisa and use it.  

Exchange, EU, EEA and Swiss students

If you are coming to the UK for an Exchange or Study Abroad course

You'll need one of two visas, depending on the length of your exchange or study abroad.

There are different immigration routes available depending on the length of your exchange or study abroad and your nationality. 

If your course is more than 6 months, you will need to apply for a Student Route visa. 

If your course is for less than 6 months, you may be able to get an Electronic Travel authorisation (ETA) to visit or study in the UK. These are cheaper and easier to apply for than Visitor visas.  

Check if you need a Visitor visa or an ETA.

Visa information for exchange and study abroad

If you have any queries, please contact the International Student Advice team by emailing [email protected].

EU, EEA and Swiss students

If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, and you are not in the UK under the EU Settlement Scheme, you will need to apply for a student visa under the Student Route. 

You will need to apply and receive your Student Route visa before arriving in the UK. If you arrive on an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), you will need to leave the UK and apply for a Student Route visa from your home country.

Studying in the UK after 1 January 2021

If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen you will need to apply for a student visa under the Student Route.

You will need to apply and receive your Student Route visa before arriving in the UK.

Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) Reimbursement eligibility

EU, Icelandic, Liechtensteiner, Norwegian and Swiss full-time students studying in the UK can apply for a reimbursement of the IHS fee.

You may be entitled to a full or partial reimbursement of your IHS payment if you meet all of the following criteria:

• full-time student in UK higher education
• your visa started on or after 1 January 2021
• you have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) issued in an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland
• you do not work or do not intend to work in the UK

You will need to consider whether you intend to work in the UK before deciding to apply for the IHS reimbursement.

This is because if you work in the UK, your EHIC will no longer be valid as your home country will no longer be responsible for your healthcare while you are in the UK.

You cannot repay the reimbursement if you change your mind or if your circumstances change.

If you get an IHS reimbursement you can only use your EHIC to access ‘medically necessary treatment’ during your stay.

Medically necessary treatment means healthcare that cannot reasonably wait until you return home, such as:

• emergency treatment and visits to A&E
• treatment for a long-term or pre-existing medical condition
• routine medical care for pre-existing conditions that need monitoring

We recommend that you buy insurance to cover any healthcare requirements not covered by your EHIC.

More information about eligibility and the application process can be found on the UK Government website.

Credibility interviews

As part of your application to join us, you might need to attend a short credibility interview. This is to confirm you are a genuine student and will help inform the decision on your visa.

UK Visas and Immigration conduct these interviews after you give your biometric information. They are normally conducted online, but can take place face-to-face or on the phone.

The interview will cover your course details, the reasons you want to study with us, your previous immigration history and your finances.

If you're a PhD student, they may ask more in-depth questions about your research.

After the interview

Once you've completed your credibility interview, make sure you request your transcript by Subject Access Request. You may need this as evidence if your visa application is refused. 

An Entry Clearance Officer will consider your visa application and you will receive a decision by email.