If you are applying for a Student visa and are located outside the UK, the following processes apply to the making of your application.
When and how to apply
You cannot apply until you have accepted an unconditional offer from City, University of London and have been issued with a CAS. City will usually start issuing CASs three months before the start date of your course.
If you are applying for a Student Route visa for your course at City in your country of residence, please make your application online and follow the application procedure to attend an appointment at either the r nearest British Embassy/Consulate or Visa Application Centre to give your biometrics.
Your "country of residence" is usually your country of nationality, but sometimes you may be living in another country eg for work or study or as a family member. In that case, you can apply from there if you are legally living in that country. However you cannot usually apply from a country that you are just visiting.
Select your country at the Home Office's country finder to find out more information on how to apply in your country, visa centre locations, application processing times and how your documents will be returned to you.
You can also check visa processing times online. The length of time it takes to process your application will depend both on the time of year and where you are applying
Your visa application date is the day you complete your online form and pay the application fee online, not the day you attend your biometric or in-person appointment. You must meet all the requirements on this date.
Application process
In order to make your Student visa application you should follow these steps:
- Create an online account with UKVI. You should ensure you answer all the questions accurately and give as much detail as you can and scan in yourt supporting
- Pay the Immigration Health Surcharge and application fees online
- Book an appointment to provide your biometrics with your local visa centre (see Documents you must provide)
- Provide your biometrics and attend a credibility interview at your appointment.
Immigration Health surcharge
The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS is a fee that is charged at the time that you submit your visa application. The IHS fee for Students is £ 470 per year of immigration permission for both the applicant and any dependants You will also usually need to pay an extra £235 for an additional half year if you are doing a course of 12 months or longer to cover the additional wrap up time granted to you after your course ends of up to 4 months.
The IHS is incorporated into the online visa application form and is paid before the immigration application has been submitted online. You can check online to calculate the health surcharge you will need to pay.
Other requirements in the process
As part of your visa application, you are required to provide your biometric information (fingerprints and facial image) at a Visa Centre. Your visa application will not be processed until you have provided the necessary biometric information.
You may also be requested to attend a short video interview with a Home Office member of staff based in the UK. The purpose of the interview is to check that you are a genuine student, so they may ask you some questions about your course and why you chose to study it and any other institutions you considered when making up your mind about where to study.
Administrative review
In the unlikely event that your Student visa application is refused and you believe that the decision is incorrect ypou can apply for an administrative review of the decision. Please read the FAQs and contact us if have any questions.
Collecting your BRP
You will be issued with a three-month entry permit in your passport which will allow you to travel to the UK. When you arrive in the UK you will need to collect your Biometrics Residence Permit (BRP) within 10 days from a nominated Post Office.
Documents you must provide
In addition to completing the application form for a General Student visa online, you will also need to provide the following documents and prepare for the following processes.
Application fees
£348 in local currency plus £470 per year for health surcharge. Please read our Immigration Health Surcharge FAQs. In some countries it is possible to pay extra (around £560 in local currency) for a faster service.
Passport
You will need to provide your current passport.
English Language requirement
All applicants that require a Student visa must meet the minimum Home Office English Language ability requirements before City can issue a CAS.
These minimum English requirements are set out alongside our general entry requirements.
Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) statement
The CAS is a unique reference number linked to a record created by the University in the Home Office IT system, which includes details of your course and the University's Sponsor Licence Number.
Proof of qualifications
Your CAS may list the qualifications you used to obtain your place at City.
Maintenance requirement
Your application must also meet certain financial requirements. Our detailed advice on preparing your application explains these in detail.
Low-risk nationals
Nationals of certain countries (e.g USA, China) are considered to be low-risk for immigration purposes. Click here for the full list of low-risk national countries.
If you are a low-risk national, you do not need to provide financial evidence with your application but you could be asked to provide these before a decision is made, although this is unusual. , However you must still ensure that you meet these requirements as you will be certifying as part of your application that you meet the financial requirements.
Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate
ATAS only applies to you if you want to study or research at postgraduate level in certain sensitive subjects relevant to national security. You should be advised that you will need this when receiving your offer to study your course.
You must obtain an approval under the ATAS Scheme if both your course and nationality require this , before making your visa application to study or extend your study period in the UK unless you are a national of an EU country, the European Economic Area (EEA), Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland or the United States of America who do not need an ATAS certificate..
TB screening
Certain nationalities are required to undergo a TB screening before applying for their UK visa from overseas. A full list of nationalities required to undergo a TB screening can be found on the Home Office website together with a list of approved clinics.
If you were financially sponsored before this course
If you have already been studying for a course in the UK and both your tuition fees and living have been paid by a government or scholarship agency within the last 12 months then you must obtain your sponsor's permission in writing to stay in or re-enter the UK before you can apply.
They must confirm they have no objection to you continuing your studies in the UK. If you do not provide this your application will be refused. More information can be found in the Student visa guidance.
If you are funding your studies with government loans then this does not apply to you.
When preparing your documents, you might find this checklist useful. (Please note some students may need additional documents not covered on this list.)
Arriving in the UK
When your visa is issued you will be given a vignette (sticker) in your passport which will be valid for travel into the UK for 90 day. This period will start no no earlier than 30 days before the course start date stated on your CAS, or 7 days before the date you specified on your form that you will be travelling, whichever is later.
You cannot enter the UK before or after this period and would need to apply for a new visa vignette if you are unable to travel . You should bring with you the letter you were issued with your visa and a copy of your CAS, as you may be asked to show these when you pass through immigration control.
You will then need to collect your BRP (which will include your full visa dates) within 10 days of arrival.
You can find more guidance on UKCISA's website.
Keeping your details up to date
It is very important that UKVI has current up to date contact details for you in case they need to contact you. This includes your home address. If any of your details change you must inform UKVI. Usually you will need to do this by completing the online MCC form.
UKCISA has further information on how to do this.