Applying for a Student Visa
Applying for a Student Visa
If you are an international student (including EU, EEA & Swiss students) and your course it is a full-time degree course based on-campus, you will usually need to apply for a Student VisaLink opens in a new window sponsored by the University (unless you already have another type of UK Immigration permission that permits study).
This page will help you understand the requirements, the costs, and how to apply.
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Student Visa at a glance
Overseas
If applying for a Student Visa from outside the UK, you must apply in the country where you are living.
This means that you hold its nationality or have the right to live in the country long-term.
Once you have received a Student Visa, you must enter the UK on or after its start date to "activate" it.
Here is what you need to know:
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UK
If applying for a Student Visa from inside the UK, you must hold a valid UK visa that allows you to extend/switch to a student visa, and that expires no sooner than 28 days before your course start date.
You cannot travel outside the UK while your visa application is pending. If you do, the application will be treated as withdrawn.
Here is what you need to know:
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On the below FAQs please select the ' >>' widget next to the section title to unhide the text so it becomes visible to the screen reader.
Unless you are applying in the UK and have been living in the UK for the previous 12 months. You must prepare financial evidence before making your visa application. You must show that you have enough money to cover:
- Course fees (the first year's tuition fees for any new period of study, as shown in your CAS email), plus
- Living costs (9207 GBP in total if your course is 9 months or longer, or 1023 GBP per month if your course is shorter)
Use the course start and end dates on your CAS to calculate the length of your course. If the length of your course includes a part of a month, include the full month. E.g. if your CAS has a course start date of 30 May and end date of 1 October, this covers dates in 6 calendar months, so we would recommend you show 6 months of living costs.
Unless you have a letter from an Official Financial Sponsor or in the form of a Student Loan for sufficient money, you must show that you have held the required amount in a personal bank account for a minimum consecutive 28-day period. This 28-day period is calculated by counting back from the closing balance date of your statement, which itself must be before, but no more than 31 days before, your application date.
The account must be:
- In your name, or
- In the name of a parent or legal guardian (You must provide proof of relationship, usually a birth certificate, and a consent letter to use funds)
Deductions from the amount that needs to be shown:
You can deduct the following from the total amount of money required above, if it is shown on your CAS:
- Course fees that you have already paid for the next period of study (Your CAS will confirm if you have paid all or part of these fees to the University).
If you make any further payments after receiving your CAS, you should wait for these to be updated on your CAS before proceeding with your visa application. Remember that funds will take time to fully clear. You will receive an email confirmation from the Student Finance Team when your CAS is updated - If you have paid a deposit to the University of Warwick for accommodation we are providing, this deposit, up to a maximum of £1,334, can be offset against the Living Costs funds required(your CAS must confirm this). Please note that any other type of housing, including if you will be living with a relative at no cost to you, cannot be deducted.
If you have received a Student Visa refusal, please complete a Student Visa refusal notification and new CAS request form. You will need to upload your UKVI refusal notice, we will need to check and assess whether we can assign a new CAS for you to make a new Student Visa application.
You can apply for a Student Visa once:
- You have received a new Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number from either your Admissions Team (if you are starting a new course, having received and accepted an unconditional offer) or the Student Visa Advice Service (if you are a current student resuming or continuing your course);
- It is no more than 3 months before the ‘Course Start Date” on that CAS (if you are applying for your visa inside of the UK);
- You meet the Student Visa eligibility requirements and have prepared any required documents.
UKVI may invite you to attend a credibility interview as part of your visa application process. It is by invitation only hence not all students are required to have an interview.
Invitation to the credibility interview is usually sent via email so you should be checking your email inbox (including the junk folder) regularly. Your application is likely to be refused if you fail to attend an interview that you were invited to without providing a valid reason or reasonable justification for not attending.
The interview will normally last for 30 minutes and it will be conducted via video link with a Home Office member of staff in Sheffield in the UK. We have collected a list of common types of questions asked.
During your interview, a staff member from the Home Office will ask you about your course, where you want to study and your reasons for studying in the UK. The report of the interview will be sent to the caseworker who decides your Student Visa application. They must be satisfied that you are a genuine student and that your English language ability is at the correct level, otherwise, you might be called for a further interview and/or your entry clearance application may be refused.
If at any point during the interview, there is an issue with hearing the questions clearly, e.g. via the video link, you should ensure that you raise this so that they are aware that it is a technical issue, not one of comprehension.
If you are eligible to apply inside the UK, and you have been living in the UK with valid permission for 12 months or more on the date of application, you will meet the financial requirement and do not need to show funds. Please note, if you have been absent from the UK for a significant period (holidays and short absences of less than 3 months do not break the 12-month period), in which case you should prepare financial evidence as you may be asked to provide it.
You can find the government rules which define how the Financial Requirement can be met in Immigration Rules Appendix FinanceLink opens in a new window
You can provide the following financial documents to show that you meet the requirements:
- Personal bank statements (in your name or the name of your parent or legal guardian)
This can be a Fixed-term deposit statement; Bank transaction statement; Bank letter or Certificate of deposit. It must show that you have held the required funds for a minimum consecutive period of 28 days. The start of this 28-day period is calculated by counting back from the closing balance date of your statement, which itself must be before, but no more than 31 days before, your application date.
If you are using funds in the name of your parent or legal guardian, you must provide proof of relationship e.g. birth certificate / a court order of legal guardianship and a consent letter from them for the use of the funds
- A full scholarship letter - this must be from an "Official Financial Sponsor", which is defined as a national government, international company, international organisation, or University. It cannot be an individual, e.g. your parent.
- A partial scholarship letter - this must also be from an "Official Financial Sponsor". You will need to provide further evidence of your remaining course fees and/or living costs.
- A educational loan letter in your name
If you are not using bank statements to meet the financial requirement it is important to check that your evidence meets the specification in the Immigration Rules for an official financial sponsor or student loans letterLink opens in a new window.
Where money is held in one or more foreign currencies, this will be converted into pounds sterling (GBP) using the spot exchange rate which appears on www.oanda.comLink opens in a new window for the date of application (the date you pay the application fees.
Please note: you can use one or multiple bank accounts or types of evidence shown above to meet the requirements. If your evidence is complex in this way, we recommend you include a cover letter to explain how those pieces of evidence combined meet the requirements.
All the documents must be an original digital copy or a clear scan or photo of the original. If any documents are not in English, you must include official translations.
The UKVI utilises Electronic Bank Checks, therefore, once you have submitted your application, you should not use the evidenced funds until you receive your visa, unless they are for costs specifically associated with your course of study, i.e. paying course fees or a deposit for accommodation.
If you do use funds for these costs, you should keep the receipts, as you may have to provide this evidence to UKVI upon request.
Examples of acceptable evidence:
If you are applying overseas:
- You must apply for your student visa in time to receive your visa and travel to the UK before your course start date.
Once you have completed the application and attended a Visa Application Centre Appointment (if you are required to), standard service applications normally take around 3 weeks for the UK Home Office to make its decision. You will need an additional 1-2 weeks for your passport to be returned to you if applicable.
It is normal for some new students to not receive their results and meet the conditions of their offer until close to their course start date. If you are applying for a new course, the University cannot issue a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), and you will not be able to submit a student visa application, until you have met the conditions of your offer and accepted your offer. If this applies to you, check the VFS websiteLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window or TLS websiteLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window (depending on the country you are living in) to see if user-pay expedited services are available (Priority and Super-Priority services).
- You must not attempt to enter the UK until your visa has been granted and until its start date has passed. You will not be able to start your course until you have entered the UK within the validity of your Student Visa.
- Your 'Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)' email will show a “Latest Start Date”. This is the deadline by which you must have arrived in the UK to start or resume your course this academic year. However, you should ensure you arrived by your “Course Start Date” wherever possible if this is different.
If you are applying within the UK, you must:
- Submit your visa application (pay the immigration health surcharge and application fee) on or before your current visa expiry date – this is called making an 'in-time application' and means your legal status in the UK is protected until the application is decided.
- Receive the new visa before your Course Start Date if your current visa type is 'Graduate' or 'High Potential Individual' (you will not be able to start your course until you have received your Student Visa because these types of visa do not allow study).
- Submit your visa application (pay the application fee) before your course start date if your current visa type is 'Student', issued for a different course or institution. You will not be able to start your course until you have provided evidence (payment receipt, document checklist, or copy application form) showing that you have submitted an application using a Warwick CAS.
How long will my Student Visa be?
The length of your Student visa will depend on your course dates and level of study. Your visa will cover the length of your course plus an additional period after the completion of your course (known as a ''wrap-up period''). During the "wrap-up period" you can remain in the UK for travel, work (within your student visa conditions), leisure purposes, to attend your graduation or make a new visa application.
Use the information below to check your visa decision email or letter carefully when you receive it in case UK Visas and Immigration have not granted the correct length of visa to you.
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A-Z of Visa Terms
Not sure what something means?
Check our list of common visa-related terminology.