Applying for a Student visa from outside the UK

You can apply for a visa in your home country. Normally you cannot apply for a visa in another country unless you have been a resident there for some time.

You can apply when you have been issued your CAS and when you have met the other conditions for a Student visa. You'll need to know about Student visa eligibility, Documents for a Student visa and Financial requirements for a Student visa.

A Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) is valid for 6 months but the University will usually only issue a CAS 3 months before the start or continuation of a course. You must apply for your Student Visa in time to arrive in the UK and start the course described on your CAS.

If you're not able to arrive in the UK and enrol before the last date to enrol given on your CAS, then you should not apply for a student visa.

The advertised processing time for a student visa is three weeks from the time you submit your biometrics, see the Gov.uk page for processing times. However, you may experience significant delays whilst the UKVI verify documents, so it is important to apply as soon as you can. Make sure you have done everything you can at the earliest opportunity including paying your deposit, organising your financial and other documents and applying for a CAS. For information about visa application centre opening times and faster Priority and Super Priority services see the Gov.uk website.

It's crucial to remember that your student visa application date is the date you pay for it online, not when you submit your documents. That means that any financial evidence you are submitting -like bank statements—must meet the 28-day holding requirement before the date of your online application. Financial documents can not be older than one month.

If you must provide your financial documents as part of a visa application, then the University will check these before we issue a CAS. If we find an issue with your financial documents—whether it’s an incorrect amount, a mistake in formatting or the type of account—we may reject them. If you’re unable to provide an alternative that meets the financial requirements, and you need to add funds to your account, you’ll then have to wait another 28 days before your bank statements are valid, which could mean missing the CAS issuing deadline altogether. That’s why it’s crucial to organise your finances early and ensure everything is in perfect order.

Read more about the documents and money you need for a CAS and a Student Visa Application on our documents page and our Financial requirements and the 28 day rule page.

You must make an online application for a Student visa.

• You will apply online, and you will be required to have your fingerprints and photo (biometric information) taken normally at a visa application centre.
• You’ll be told what you need to do when you apply, so it is important to follow these instructions carefully.

At the end of the online Student visa application form you'll be taken to the VFS Global website to organise your biometric appointment and submission of documents.

Application centres give advice about the process of booking and attending an appointment including whether Priority and Super Priority services are offered for faster visa processing. Some centres offer the option of uploading scanned documents before the appointment.

At your biometric appointment your fingerprints and photograph will be taken and you will normally need to submit your documents, translations and passport. You can read more about the documents you will need on our documents page.

At the appointment you may be required to take a credibility interview, or you may have a later interview on the phone. You should prepare in advance for the interview.

If your stay in the UK is longer than six months, you will be issued with a 90-day vignette in your passport which you will use to travel to the UK. You will be given details about how to set up an eVisa.

Or

You will be given instructions on accessing your Student Immigration Status digitally, this is called an eVisa. Once your eVisa is activated, you can use the view and prove service as evidence of your digital immigration status

If the length of time you will be in the UK is less than 6 months a vignette may not be 90 days long and will be for the duration of your stay in the UK.

When you receive your decision email/letter you should check that your Student Visa expiry date is correct (see information on this page about when your visa will expire).

You must make an online application for a Student visa.

• If you have a biometric passport issued by either the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, please follow the instructions below.
• You’ll apply online and have an option to confirm your identity using the 'UK Immigration: ID Check' app instead of visiting a visa application centre.
• You'll receive your Student Immigration Status digitally; this will be your eVisa.
• You won't be required to submit your passport and will not be issued with a visa sticker in your passport.
• You'll use the view and prove service as evidence of your digital status.
• Once you start the online Student visa application you will be directed towards the 'UK Immigration: ID Check' app if you have a passport from either the EU, Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein or Switzerland.
• You'll be asked whether you have a biometric passport and you or somebody else you know has an appropriate smart phone or device to use the app.
• If you cannot apply using the 'UK Immigration: ID Check' app then you will need to attend an application centre as part of the application process and application centres are not available in all countries. If you're unable to use the app, see the application process for described earlier for those who are not from the European Union, Economic Area or Switzerland.

Please note that although much of the application process for an eVisa is done online this does not mean students with delayed Student visa applications can travel to the UK as a visitor (before the Student visa is granted) and start a course while waiting for their Student digital status (eVisa). You must wait for your visa to be granted before travelling to the UK.

The current Student visa application fee is £524, and some visa application centres offer a quicker priority service for an additional £500 or a super priority service for an additional £1,000. It is usually charged in the local currency.

The current Student Immigration Health Surcharge is £776 per year and £388 for six months.

Currently, if you are studying for a three-year undergraduate degree, your Immigration Health Charge will be 2,716 (£776 x 3) + £388. If you are studying for an MSc programme, you would have to pay £1,164: £776 for your one-year course, plus £388 for the additional four months of leave granted after the course ends.

Visit the UK government website to calculate how much you will have to pay before applying.

If your course lasts for less than six months, for instance, a pre-sessional or a semester study abroad programme, then you will not have to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge but should obtain your own health insurance.

If you are eligible to bring dependants on a Dependant Visa, the current application fee per dependant is £524. Dependants usually need to pay the same amount as you.

Most students cannot bring dependants to the UK but there are some exceptions, PhD/Doctoral students, students who started their postgraduate course before 1 January 2024, students whose course is funded by a Government and students whose dependants have extant leave or whose visas expired in the last 3 months should read the UKCISA information for dependants.

The earliest arrival date is directly tied to the visa start date, which depends on:

• The length of your course
• The course start date listed on your CAS
• The planned travel date provided in your visa application

Your Entry Clearance visa or eVisa must be granted and valid before you can travel. The earliest arrival period is shown on the table below.

The date that your visa expires will depend on the length of your course as shown on your CAS. Most master’s and undergraduate students will be studying a course 12 months or longer so should expect to be granted a visa that expires 4 months after the course end date shown on the CAS.

If you are a returning student and are applying for a visa to complete a course you have already started, which is more than 12 months long in total, you also should expect your visa to expire based on the overall length of the course and not based on the remaining time you need to complete the course. Students applying to repeat a portion of the course will often be given an incorrect expiry date and can get help from the Student Advice Service to correct an error.

If you notice that your expiry date is incorrect then there is a process to correct an error in the length of a visa.

If your application is successful, you'll be sent an email or letter telling you about the conditions of your visa, this is known as your ‘Decision Letter’. Your decision letter will include:

• The length of your Student visa
• Your visa conditions
• Information about travelling to the UK and accessing your eVisa

If you are an EEA or Swiss national who used the 'UK Immigration: ID check' app, then you'll receive your visa in the form of an online digital status (eVisa).

Everybody else will either be given instructions about how to create and eVisa before travelling to the UK or will have their passports returned to them containing a vignette (sticker) to be used to enter the UK.

If you are a new student, you must arrive in the UK and enrol on your course before the enrolment desk closes on the last date to enrol. If you have a successful visa application but if you unfortunately do not enrol on time your visa sponsorship will be withdrawn by the University leading to a visa cancellation.

If your Student visa application is refused, it is important that you contact us immediately. You must inform the Student Compliance team by emailing [email protected].

See the UK Council for International Student Affairs Information about refusals.

Contact Student Advice to discuss your next steps.

Following a successful visa application and when you are preparing for your arrival, you may have questions about what to bring and what to expect. We've rounded up some key resources below.

• To find out about the enrolment process, see our Enrolment for new students page.
• For advice about documents you need to bring and events to help you settle in, see our Enrolment for new international students page.
• To find out what to do before you arrive and during your first few weeks at Westminster, see our New student checklist page.

Useful information can also be found on the UKCISA website.

Entering the UK during the validity of your Student visa

When entering the UK, you'll normally see an Immigration Officer/Border Force officer who will check your permission to enter, ensuring you enter within the validity of your Student visa. You'll receive a date stamp in your passport, normally on the vignette if you have one. The stamp acts as proof that you have entered the UK in accordance with the rules of your visa. If you don’t receive a stamp, keep evidence of your flight details, showing the date you arrived in the UK.

Some nationals are able to come to the UK as visitors without first applying for a visa. If you are normally able to do this, then do not enter as a visitor before your visa is valid as the University will not enrol you for a course that requires a visa. If you are an EEA or a Swiss student, you should not enter the UK as a visitor while you wait for a digital eVisa as you won't be able to enrol on a course and attend classes as a visitor. You could also risk your visa application being cancelled.

Some students can enter the UK via the eGates/ePassport gates if holding a current passport (with a biometric chip) from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, The United States of America, The EEA or Switzerland.

EGates are automated self-service barriers located at immigration checkpoints at UK airports. They are an alternative to seeing an Immigration officer/Border force officer.

If you do enter via the eGates you'll need to keep evidence of the date that you entered the UK (such as flight tickets and or Boarding Passes) and provide these in addition to your other documents when you enrol.

If you are planning on bringing a family member with you to the UK as your dependant, please visit the UKCISA website for information about the application process and requirements.

Please also note that the rules relating to who can be your dependant whilst you are in the UK changed in January 2024 and are described on the UKCISA webpage. Most students can now not bring dependants to the UK with the following exceptions:

• If you are continuing a postgraduate course you started before 1 January 2024 which is full-time and 9 months or longer, or
• If you are studying a research degree such as a PhD which is 9 months or longer and you start it on or after 1 January 2024, or
• If you are in receipt of a scholarship or sponsorship from a government and your course (of any level) is full-time and at least six months long, or
• You are studying or have studied on a full-time course lasting at least six months and all four points below apply:

1. Your Student permission is current or expired no more than three months before this immigration application.
2. Your new immigration application is for a full-time course that is at least six months.
3. Your dependant already has Student dependant immigration permission (or it expired no more than three months before this application), or your dependant is your child who was born since you were last granted your immigration permission.
4. You are applying for immigration permission at the same time as your dependant.

The UK has specific rules about who counts as a dependant. For instance, generally, a child must be under 18, unmarried, and financially dependant on their parent(s) to qualify. Additionally, both parents must usually be in the UK or coming to the UK on visas other than visitor visas