UK Study Visa

Key requirements:

You must have an offer to study from a licensed sponsor (a school or university)

To prove this, you sponsor will provide you with a reference number called CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies)

Once your CAS has been issued, you have 6 months to apply for your visa.

How much it costs & money you need:

The amount you need depends on your circumstances. You must have enough money to pay for 1 academic year (up to 9 months of studies). The exact amount will be inidicate on your CAS.

Unless you have been living in the UK with a valid visa for the past 12 months, you will also have to demonstrate you have enough money to support yourself in the UK (also called maintenance or financial requirement).

• £1,334 per month (for up to 9 months) for courses in London

• £1,023 per month (for up to 9 months) for courses outside London

For the Doctorate Extension Scheme: you need to prove you have a total of £2,668 for courses in London, or a total of £2,046 for courses outside London.

You must have this money for at least 28 consecutive days. The end date of the 28-day period must be within 31 days of the date you apply for your visa.

If you have a student loan or a sponsorship (e.g. scholarship), you need to provide evidence of those.

If you are boarding at a school, you will have to pay the boarding fees instead.

If you are a British national overseas or from one of the following countries, the financial requirement doesn’t apply to you:

• Australia

• Austria

• Bahrain

• Barbados

• Belgium

• Botswana

• Brazil

• Brunei

• Bulgaria

• Cambodia

• Canada

• Chile

• China

• Croatia

• Republic of Cyprus

• Czech Republic

• Denmark

• The Dominican Republic

• Estonia

• Finland

• France

• Germany

• Greece

• Hong Kong

• Hungary

• Iceland

• Indonesia

• Ireland

• Italy

• Japan

• Kazakhstan

• Kuwait

• Latvia

• Liechtenstein

• Lithuania

• Luxembourg

• Macao

• Malaysia

• Malta

• Mauritius

• Mexico

• Netherlands

• New Zealand

• Norway

• Oman

• Peru

• Poland

• Portugal

• Qatar

• Romania

• Serbia

• Singapore

• Slovakia

• Slovenia

• South Korea

• Spain

• Sweden

• Switzerland

• Taiwan

• Thailand

• Tunisia

• United Arab Emirates

• United States of America

English knowledge:

You must show you can communicate in English before you apply. Usually you will need to pass a Secure English Language Test (SELT) from an approved provider, which can be one of the following:

If you are in the UK

You can only take a SELT with one of the following providers:

• IELTS SELT Consortium

• LanguageCert

• Pearson

• Trinity College London

If you are outside of the UK

You can only take a SELT with one of the following providers:

• IELTS SELT Consortium

• LanguageCert

• Pearson

• PSI Services (UK) Ltd

If you completed a GCSE, A level, Scottish National Qualification level 4 or 5, Scottish Higher or Advanced Higher in English, you normally don’t need to take English test.

Level of English to apply for Student visa:

If you are applying to study at a degree level or above – you need to know English at level B2 or above

If you are applying to study below a degree level – you need to know English at level B1 or above.

Who does not need to prove their knowledge of English

You do not need to take English test if you’ve completed a qualification equivalent to a UK degree in one of the following countries, or are from one of the following countries:

Antigua and Barbuda

• Australia

• the Bahamas

• Barbados

• Belize

• Dominica

• Grenada

• Guyana

• Ireland

• Jamaica

• Malta

• New Zealand

• St Kitts and Nevis

• St Lucia

• St Vincent and the Grenadines

• Trinidad and Tobago

• UK

• USA

OR if one of the following applies:

• you’re a national of Canada

• you’re applying to come to the UK for a study abroad programme as part of a university degree course in the USA

• you proved your level of English in a previous visa application

Nationals of certain countries must also provide a negative tuberculosis test from an approved clinic.