Applying for a Student route visa outside the UK

A Student visa is not generic permission to study in the UK as you wish. It is issued for a specific course of study at a specific institution.

Check with the education provider where you intend to study that they have the appropriate license to sponsor a Student visa for the course you wish to do. They will need to issue you with a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) to support your visa application.

There are four types of license: Student Sponsor - Track Record, Student Sponsor, Probationary Sponsor, and Legacy Sponsor. A Student Sponsor - Track Record can offer the widest range of courses with sponsorship for a Student visa. You can check what kind of licence your institution or your prospective institution holds on the UK government's Register of licensed sponsors: students.

You should apply in the country where you are living. In this context, "living" somewhere means that you are there lawfully for a reason other than for a short-term visit. You can also apply in any other country whose passport you hold.

It is important to consider that if you are applying in a country that you do not hold nationality for, you may be asked to prove your immigration status for that country.

If there is no suitable VAC in the country you are currently living, you should make your application to the appropriate application post as designated on the Home Office website.

You should apply:

• before you have travelled to the UK
• no more than six months before the start date of your course
• normally no later than six months after your CAS was issued

If you don't already know, ask your institution when you need to enrol on your course and start attending classes.  Your institution may also be organising welcome events or induction events to help you settle in to the UK.

You apply online. The only exception to this is if you are applying in DPRK (North Korea). The application form asks you to specify which specific type of Student application you are making. We understand the options that you are given are:

• Student – relevant for most applications
• Scholarship student for applicants with a Chevening Scholarship or Fellowship, a British Marshall Scholarship or a Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowships Plan
• Child student - only for students aged 4 - 17 (inclusive) who will study at an Independent School that specifically has a Child student sponsor licence (check this with your school before applying)

If you have difficulties with the online form, contact your sponsor institution. If there is a technical issue with the online form you should use the 'is there a problem with this page' link at the bottom of the web page.

When you are ready to apply you will need to pay the immigration health surcharge, any biometric enrolment fees, any value-added service fees, and the application fee.

Most applicants must still attend at a visa application centre for a biometrics appointment. The only exception is EEA nationals who have a biometric chip in their passport.

Students under 16 can apply for a Child Student visa to study at an Independent fee-paying school. Ask your school for information about how to apply.

If you are 16 or 17 years old, you can sometimes choose to apply either as a Child Student or as a Student. This will depend on:

• studying at an Independent School. Other types of institution cannot sponsor a Child student application
• the type of sponsor licence the institution holds: there are separate licenses for the Student and Child student routes. The sponsor's listing on the Register of licensed sponsors: students says which route(s) they can sponsor.
• the level of the course.

We recommend you always speak to your school directly if you are applying as a Child Student.

For a short course, including an English language course which lasts no more than 11 months, you may be eligible to apply to enter the UK as a 'short-term student' (or as a 'Short-term student (Child)' if you are under 16 years old). See Short-term student visas for more information.

The application fee is £363, paid as an equivalent in your local or alternative currency.  Some visa application centres (VACs) charge an additional 'user pays fee' of £55 and this is to allow smaller VACs to remain open.  If you do not wish to pay this additional fee then you will need to attend a different VAC.

Some VACs also offer a range of other services for an additional cost.  As an example, in some countries it is possible to pay an additional 'priority fee' of £220-£250 or in some cases an additional 'super priority fee' of £956 to have your application processed more quickly.

To check whether your local VAC is a 'user pays' centre and/or which services are available, select your home country from the list of visa application centres.

For further information on fees for applications made outside of the UK, you can read the guidance on the UKVI website called ECB06: entry clearance fees.

If your studies will be funded by a Chevening, Marshall and Commonwealth Scholarship, and you select the relevant type of application at the beginning of the application form, you will not have to pay the standard application fee. You may still need to pay any optional additional fees. You will be asked to provide evidence that you are receiving one of these scholarships, if you are not able to do so then the application fee will not be waived.

Applications for visas that are more than six months long include an immigration health surcharge. The cost of this is based on the length of the visa that you are applying for. You can check how long your visa will be.

The immigration health surcharge is charged at £470 per year of your visa. If your visa includes part of a year that is six months or less you will be charged an additional 50% of the annual charge for this period.  If your visa includes part of a year that is more than six months, you will have to pay the full annual change or this period. As a guide, a 12 month Master’s course would lead to a charge of £710 for the immigration health surcharge (12 months plus 4 months wrap-up period).

You can also use the Immigration Health Surcharge tool on the Home Office website to check how much you will have to pay. The Student application form will calculate the amount that you need to pay and ask you to pay it before you can complete your application. After you have done this you will receive an email containing your IHS reference number.  This number will automatically be included on your application form cover sheet.

A very limited number of people are exempt from paying the immigration health surcharge, including British Overseas Territory citizens who live in the Falkland Islands. See the Home Office website for more information about who does not pay the IHS.

If you are receiving funding from a Chevening, Marshall or Commonwealth Scholarship, and you have chosen the relevant type of application at the beginning of the form, you do not need to pay the IHS.  You will still have to complete the IHS section of the application form but the form will calculate your IHS payment as '£0.00'.

There are limitations on when you are eligible for a refund of an immigration health surcharge payment if you are applying for entry clearance. These limitations are explained further in the Home Office's refund policy for the immigration health surcharge.

If you are coming to the UK for more than six months and you have been in one of the countries listed in Appendix T of the Immigration Rules for more than six months immediately preceding your Student application then you will need to provide a medical certificate from an approved clinic confirming that you are clear of tuberculosis (TB).

If you will be returning to your home country to make your visa application shortly after having been in an Appendix T country for more than six months then it is advisable to obtain a medical certificate from an approved clinic before you leave the Appendix T country as it can be difficult to find an approved clinic outside of Appendix T countries.

You need be realistic about how much time you will need in order to make your application, especially if you cannot currently travel to your nearest TB clinic or visa application centre, or if they are closed. There is no provision for applying for a TB test if you are in a country that does not have any approved TB clinics, or for deferring your TB test, or for applying in the UK. You will need to travel to one or wait until travel is possible.

More information, including the location of approved clinics and how to book a TB test can be found on the Home Office website.

An EEA national whose passport has a biometric chip is not required to make an appointment to give their biometrics. Instead, you use the UK Immigration ID check app to scan and upload your passport and a photo. See the Student route visa application form for details.

All other applicants must give their biometrics at an appointment. Once you have completed your application form, the form will instruct you to make an appointment.  At this appointment you will be required to provide your biometrics (your facial photograph and fingerprints).

Despite the ongoing effects of the Coronavirus pandemic, we understand that there are no plans to remove this requirement for entry clearance applications, even if you have previously been granted UK immigration permission.

The Home Office has confirmed to us that Access UK (the digital application process) will hold applications for an increased period of 240 days. This is to ensure that entry clearance applications remain live and valid, so you will be able to enrol your biometric data once visa application and medical check services have resumed.

If your visa application centre is closed due to Covid-19, there is a concession in place to allow you to apply in any other country. When beginning your application, you must select the appropriate country to register your biometrics. This concession no longer has an expiry date, although we advise that you continue to check the Coronavirus (COVID-19): advice for UK visa applicants and temporary UK residents guidance

The Home Office intends to interview Student applicants before granting them immigration permission to come to the UK. You may therefore be sent an email asking you to attend an interview as part of the application process. You should check your email (including the 'junk' folder) regularly as your application is likely to be refused if you are asked to attend an interview and you do not do so without providing a reasonable explanation.

During your interview a member of Home Office staff 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 makes the decision on your Student 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 you are asked to attend an interview you may wish to contact your institution beforehand in case they are able to help you to prepare for your interview.

The Home Office's guidance Visa decision times: applications outside the UK gives the current standard processing times under the heading "If you want to study in the UK".

If you have submitted an application and now want to withdraw it - see Cancel your visa, immigration or citizenship application.

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Most Student visa applicants will receive a 90-day vignette (sticker) in their passport. You use this to travel to the UK. After you arrive in the UK, you will collect a biometric residence permit (BRP) showing the full length of your visa. Your vignette will be accompanied by a letter. Keep the letter, and bring it to the UK with you. EEA nationals who have used the UK Immigration: ID check app receive their visa in the form of an online digital status and will not receive a vignette. This digital status can be shared with anyone who needs to check your visa.

If your visa application is for six months or less your vignette will be valid for your whole stay in the UK. Otherwise, the vignette in your passport will be valid for 90 days.

It's important to note that if the intended date of travel you stated on your application form was less than one month before the course start date listed on your CAS then you will not be granted the maximum period of leave possible before the start of your course.  Instead, your visa will start seven days before the intended travel date on your visa application. You would not be able to travel to the UK before the date that you stated in the application.

Your 90-day vignette will start maximum one month before the start date of the course, or seven days before your intended date of travel as specified in your application, whichever is later, if:

• your course will last for six months or more, or
• it is a pre-sessional course which will last for less than six months.

Otherwise, for a shorter non-pre-sessional course your vignette start date will be start seven days before the start date of the course.

The end date of full visa will depend on the length of the course. It always includes some extra time after the end of the course, sometimes called the "wrap-up period". When you receive your decision outside the UK, and when you collect your biometric residence permit on your arrival in the UK, it is important that you confirm you have been given the correct amount of leave as per the table below (taken from ST 25.3 of Appendix Student):

If you think that you have been granted an incorrect end date see Passport, visa and BRP problems for guidance on how to correct any visa errors.