Student route: eligibility and requirements

You will need to send a certificate or transcript of results for all qualifications listed in the 'Evidence used to obtain offer' section of your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).

You also have the option of submitting printouts of your qualification or transcript results from the awarding body’s online checking service. The printouts must clearly show your name, the title and date of the award, and the name of the awarding body. If you submit a printout of your qualification or transcript, the Home Office reserves the right to request the certificate of qualification, or transcript of results.  

If you submit any certificates or transcripts that are not in English or Welsh, you must also include a translation of each.

‘Low-risk’ applicants do not need to submit these documents but should have them available in case the Home Office asks to see them.

If you are studying at degree level or above, and are sponsored by a higher education provider with a track record of compliance, you will not be required to submit these documents.

You must normally include your valid passport with your application, which must contain at least one full page that is blank on both sides.

Unlike many other countries, the UK does not require that a passport is valid for any particular period of time after arrival in the UK, but it must be valid when you make your application and when you arrive in the UK (if you are applying for entry clearance). 

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) say that your passport must remain valid for the full length of your stay, but this has no basis in any law or guidance and we do not know of any student who has been refused entry to the UK on this basis. It would be very common for someone's passport to expire during a long stay in the UK.

If you are applying for entry clearance and your passport will expire very shortly after you arrive in the UK, it is advisable to renew it before you make your Student application , if there is time to do so. If your passport will expire at any other point during your time in the UK, you should check with the passport issuing authority in your home country if you will be able to replace it in the UK. This is possible for most nationalities, but not all.  

When you apply for the Student route, you will be assessed on your ability to read, write, speak and understand English.

Your Student sponsor will tell you how it will assess your English and the level of English you must have, which is subject to minimum levels set by the Home Office. The method of assessment will vary but could include:

• Passing one of the Home Office's secure English language tests (SELTs) at an approved test centre.
• Having a GCSE, A Level or Scottish equivalent in English language or literature following education at a UK school whilst below the age of 18.

You can also meet the English language requirement if you have already met the English language requirement successfully in a previous application made either inside or outside the UK. This requirement can only be satisfied if the level of English in the previous application was at the required level for the current application.

There are special arrangements if you are a national of a majority English-speaking country, have a qualification taught in an English-speaking country, are spending no more than six months in the UK as part of a USA degree-level course, or plan to study at degree level at a UK higher education provider with a track record of compliance.

Your Student sponsor must confirm on your CAS that it has either assessed your level of English language in reading, writing, speaking and listening, or that it is not required to do so. 

Whether and how you need to provide evidence of English language in your Student application depends on what your Student sponsor has entered in this field of the CAS.

We set out the evidence you may need to provide to prove your knowledge of the English language depending on what your Student sponsor has entered in the CAS field:  

National of a majority English-speaking country  
Evidence: your passport. 

You have a degree-level qualification taught in a majority English-speaking country or taught or researched in English
Evidence: certificate or results transcript plus a statement of comparability from Ecctis confirming that the qualification meets or exceeds the level of a UK degree.

You have completed a degree in the UK
Evidence: certificate or results transcript.

Study abroad student
Evidence: confirmed on the CAS, plus a statement of comparability from Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC) confirming that the course of studies overseas will lead to an academic qualification at UK bachelor's degree level or above.

GCSE, A Level or Scottish equivalent qualification 
Evidence: certificate or transcript.

Met in a previous application

Evidence: although the Appendix English language and the Student and Child Student guidance do not specify how this will be evidenced, confirmation on the CAS/self-declaration on the Student application form should be acceptable.

'Gifted' degree student at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance
Evidence: confirmed on the CAS. You must also carry a letter from your institution with you when you enter the UK.

Your Student route application is for degree-level study at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance, and you don't meet any of the previous provisions
Evidence: your CAS confirms that your Student sponsor has assessed your English language ability to be at a minimum of CEFR level B2 in each of the four components. Your CAS must also state the method of assessment that your Student sponsor used. If a SELT was used to determine your English language ability, enter the test reference number on your Student application form so that the Home Office can verify your SELT results online.

Your Student route application is for degree-level study at an institution that is not a higher education provider with a track record of compliance, and you don't meet any of the previous provisions
Evidence: your CAS confirms that your Student sponsor has assessed your English language ability to be at a minimum of CEFR level B2 in each of the four components, using one of the Home Office's approved secure English Language tests (SELTs). Enter the test reference number on your Student route application form so that the Home Office can verify your SELT results online. No further evidence is required.

Your Student route application is for study below degree level and you don't meet any of the previous provisions
Evidence: your CAS confirms that the Student sponsor has assessed your English language ability to be at a minimum of CEFR level B1 in each of the four components, using one of the Home Office's approved secure English language tests (SELTs). Enter the test reference number on your Student route application form so that the Home Office can verify your SELT results online. No further evidence is required.

When you are applying for the Student route, you will need to prove that you have enough money to pay for your course fees and your living costs. The Home Office calls this the 'financial requirements'.

You will be exempt from meeting the financial requirements, according to paragraph ST 12 of Appendix Student in the Immigration Rules, in either of these cases:

• If you have been living in the UK for 12 months or more with immigration permission at the time of your application and make your Student application from inside the UK.
• If you apply from either inside or outside the UK as a students’ union sabbatical officer.

If you are applying from outside the UK for entry clearance or if you have been living in the UK with immigration permission for less than 12 months, you must meet the following financial requirements:

Course fees

You must have enough money to pay for the course fees for the first year of your course, or the entire course if it is less than one year. If your CAS has been issued for further study on a course that you are already part-way through, the 'first year of study' means the first year of this new period of study. The Home Office will use the details in your CAS to confirm how much money you need for your course fees. 

If you have already paid all of your course fees, or for study abroad or for another course with no fees, your CAS will confirm this.

Living costs

The Home Office uses fixed amounts, which may or may not reflect your actual living costs. 

• If you wish to study in London, you will need £1,483 for each month of your course, up to a maximum of nine months. This means that if you will be studying in London for a course that lasts one month only, the amount that you will need is £1,483.

If you will be studying in London for a course lasting nine months or more, the amount that you will need is £13,347. If you are not sure whether you will be studying in London, ask your Student sponsor.

• For study elsewhere in the UK, the monthly amounts are lower: you will need £1,136 for each month of your course, and up to £10,224 for a course lasting nine months or more.

Use the course start and end dates on your CAS to calculate the length of your course and therefore how many months' maintenance you will need. If the length of your course includes a part of a month, round it up to a full month. 

For example, if your course dates are 30 May-1 October, this is four months and two days so you would need to show five months of funds. 

Deductions

You can deduct the following from the total amount of money that you need as part of your immigration application: money that you have already paid to your Student sponsor towards your course fees, and up to £1,483 that you have already paid to your Student sponsor for your accommodation fees, if you will be living in university or college accommodation.

You cannot deduct any advance payment for any other type of housing, nor can you adjust the amounts if you will have no housing costs (for example, if you will be living with a relative free of charge).

Your CAS may include details of any money paid to your institution. If not, you will need to provide a paper receipt confirming how much you have paid towards your course fees and/or your accommodation fees.

‘Low-risk’ applicants who have a receipt do not need to include it with the application.

Evidence of your money must meet specific requirements. If it does not, your immigration application is likely to be refused.

If you have already paid money to your institution for your course fees or accommodation, submit paper receipts with your application as evidence of this, unless this information is included in your CAS. See 'deductions' in financial requirements for more information.

As evidence of your money, you can use any one or more of these forms of evidence as set out in Appendix Finance:

• personal bank statements
• letter from your bank, or a regulated financial institution
• certificate(s) of deposit letter from an official financial sponsor
• letter from a regulated financial institution confirming that you have a loan from the national government, the state or regional government, or a government-sponsored student loan company
• letter from a regulated financial institution confirming that you have a loan that is part of an academic or educational loans scheme
• statements of a passbook from a building society

Personal bank statements

As evidence of your money, you can use personal bank statements in your Student route application.

Your bank statements must show that the full amount of money that you need has been in the account for 28 consecutive days up to the date of the closing balance. This means that the account must not have dropped below the amount that you need to show at any time during the 28-day period. If it does, your immigration application is likely to be refused. In addition, the final date of this 28-day period must not be more than 31 days old on the date that you submit your application.

Maintenance must be in the form of cash funds and immediately accessible. You cannot use evidence of other types of finances, such as shares, bonds, or a pension fund. You also cannot use an overdraft facility or a credit card. Funds acquired in the UK must also have been lawfully obtained and cannot have been obtained if you were in breach of your Student visa or Student permission conditions, or in the UK unlawfully.

The bank statements can be for a bank account that is solely in your name, or in the name of your partner, or in one or both of your parent(s) or legal guardian(s) names. Alternatively, the account can also be a joint account that you hold with someone else. Find out more about the additional evidence required when using your partner’s funds and using your parent(s) or legal guardian(s) funds. If you are relying on using a joint bank account in which you are one of the account holders, please note that your name must be on the account along with the other named individual. You can use more than one account if necessary, and you can use a combination of your account(s) and your parent(s) or legal guardian(s) account(s).

You can use an overseas bank account. If your funds are not in British pounds (GBP), you should convert the closing balance into GBP using OANDA and the conversion rate on the date on which you make your application. Write this sum on the statement. If the currency that you wish to rely on is either in Iranian Rials or Syrian Pounds, please refer to the Financial requirement casework guidance for the alternative arrangements that you will be required to use instead of OANDA.

You cannot use mini-statements obtained from an ATM. The format requirements for a bank statement (either printed or online), and a letter from your bank or other financial institution can be found in the Financial requirement casework guidance. Please note that the requirement for online statements to either be stamped on each page or to be accompanied by a supporting letter from the bank or building society has been removed. 

Letter from your bank, or a regulated financial institution

As evidence of your money, you can use a letter from your bank or regulated financial institution in your Student route application.

Maintenance must be in the form of cash funds and immediately accessible. You cannot use evidence of other types of finances, such as shares, bonds, or a pension fund. You also cannot use an overdraft facility or a credit card. Funds acquired in the UK must also have been lawfully obtained and cannot have been obtained if you were in breach of your Student visa or Student permission conditions, or in the UK unlawfully.

A letter from your bank or financial institution will normally confirm the balance and the length of time that this balance has been held. As with a personal bank statement, the required funds must not have fallen below the required amount for a consecutive 28-day period. The letter must also not be dated any later than 31 days after the date of your application.

Please note, if you are relying on using funds from a joint account, the letter must include your name together with the name of the other account holder. Find out more about the additional evidence required when using your partner’s funds and using your parent(s) or legal guardian(s) funds.

Certificate of deposit

A certificate of deposit is issued by a bank to confirm that the named person has deposited or invested a specific amount of money.

As set out by the Home Office’s guidance, a certificate of deposit is accepted if it meets the following requirements:

• The certificate of deposit must have been issued by a bank that confirms that an individual has deposited or invested a sum of money.
• The funds have been held for the required 28-day period.
• The applicant can access the funds at any time.

There are no further requirements for the certificate. For example, there is no maximum time limit on how long you have held the funds, and a certificate is acceptable even if it has wording that says the funds are 'frozen' or 'inaccessible'. 

Please refer to the sections on using your parent(s) or legal guardian(s) funds, and using your partner’s funds, if the Certificate of deposit is in either of these individuals' names for the details of the additional evidence that you will be required to submit.

Loans

If you are applying for your visa outside of the UK, the loan must be available to you before you travel to the UK, unless it is a loan from your country's national government, in which case it must be made available to you before you begin your course.

Alternatively, the funds must be paid directly to your Student sponsor before you travel to the UK. In this case, the living costs part of the loan must be made available to you by the time you arrive in the UK.

Any other type of loan will not meet the Student route requirements. If you wish to use money from any other type of loan, you need to transfer the funds to a bank or building society account in your name (or a parent or legal guardian's name) and use one of the other forms of evidence listed in the financial evidence section.

A loan letter must not be dated more than six months before the date on which you make your application. The loan must be in your name only.

Using funds from an overseas bank account is permitted. Funds from an overseas account will not be considered by the Home Office if any of the following apply:

• The Home Office is unable to make satisfactory verification checks of the overseas bank.
• The overseas bank is not regulated by the appropriate regulatory body in the respective overseas country.
• The overseas bank does not use electronic record keeping.

Please refer to FIN 2.1 of Appendix Finance of the Immigration Rules for further details.

You may use a personal bank account in your parent's or guardian's name (or names) to prove that you have enough money to study in the UK as part of your Student route application. Business accounts are not acceptable because the Immigration Rules (Appendix Finance) specify that accounts must be personal.

If you wish to use a personal bank account in your parent's or guardian's name (or names), you must include evidence of their relationship to you. This evidence of your relationship with your parent(s) or legal guardian(s) can be proven with:

• Your birth certificate, or a copy, showing the name of your parent(s) whose bank account you are using for your immigration application.
• If you are adopted, the certificate of adoption, or a copy, showing your name and the name of your parent(s) whose bank account you are using for your immigration application.
• If you have a legal guardian, a court document, or copy, which shows the name of your guardian(s) whose bank account you are using for your immigration application.

You must also provide a signed letter from your parent(s) or legal guardian(s), confirming the relationship between you, and confirming that they consent to the funds being available to you for study in the UK.

Any other relative (or unrelated person) can pay money direct to your Student sponsor on your behalf, for example, to pay your course fees or housing costs. If any other relative or unrelated person wishes to support you financially with your Student route application, the financial evidence (such as a bank statement) must be in joint names. Alternatively, the money can be held in your partner’s name.  

If you do not have any of the above, but you have a government-issued household register showing your name and your parent or parents' name(s), the Home Office's financial requirement casework guidance confirms that this is acceptable evidence of your relationship, though this option is not listed on the application form.

If your country of nationality does not issue birth certificates, Home Office staff are instructed to accept documents that contain "the required information and is in English or is accompanied by a verified translation". Therefore, you can use whatever official document your country of nationality issues as evidence of its nationals' birth and family relationships, even if it is not called a 'birth certificate'. If your country of nationality does issue birth certificates then you must submit this as evidence of your relationship to your parent(s).

If your partner is applying for immigration permission at the same time as you, the evidence of the funds used in your Student route application can be in your partner’s sole name. This applies regardless of whether or not you and your partner are making an entry clearance application or a permission to stay application.

Alternatively, the evidence of funds used in your Student route application can be in your partner’s name only, if your partner already has some form of immigration permission. The Immigration Rules do not specify what type of immigration permission your partner has to have.

For further details concerning who qualifies as a partner and the evidence that unmarried partners may be required to submit to confirm their relationship, please refer to the Student route: bringing your family page and Home Office caseworker guidance.

According to FIN 5.1 of Appendix Finance, this means that financial documents can only be held by the following people in order to make an application under the Student route:

• Solely by you.
• In joint names with you and with someone else.
• In the name of your partner solely (if your partner is applying at the same time as you).
• In the name of your partner solely if your partner has some form of immigration permission.

Although relying on funds in your partner's name is permitted under the Immigration Rules, reports suggest that this is not reflected in any of the options when completing the Student route application form itself and that the only options in which to select are that the funds are in your name or the name of your parent(s). If this is the case and you wish to rely on funds in your partner's name, you may wish to add a note in the free text section of the application form, correctly stating that you are relying on funds in your partner's name.

Official financial sponsors include His Majesty’s Government, your national government, the British Council, an international organisation, international company, university or independent school, as defined in Appendix Finance and in the Financial requirement caseworker guidance. The guidance sets out the requirements for an official financial sponsorship letter. If your official financial sponsor is your university, you do not need a letter if the details of your financial sponsorship are on your CAS.  

If your official financial sponsor is a government and they have sent you a sponsor letter by email, a printout of this letter should be acceptable as evidence of the sponsorship. The entry clearance officer can still ask for an original letter, so it is a good idea to ask your government sponsor for a paper copy too.    

The list of acceptable official financial sponsors includes an 'international company'. The Home Office has not defined this, but this means a company with a trading presence (an office) in more than one country.

If your official financial sponsor is not covering all of your course fees and maintenance, you must show that you have the rest of the money required. You can use any combination of the forms of evidence listed in the financial requirements evidence section.

Your evidence of funds letter, if provided by a government or an international scholarship agency, must specifically state that your financial sponsor consents to your Student route application.

If your application includes any documents which are not in English or Welsh, you must also include a translation of each document. Each translation must contain:

• Confirmation from the translator/translation company that it is an accurate translation of the original document.
• The date of the translation.
• The full name and signature of the translator, or of an authorised official of the translation company.
• The contact details of the translator or translation company.
• Certification by a qualified translator and details of the translator or translation company’s credentials (if you are already in the UK and are applying for further immigration permission).

If you apply under the Student route when you are 16 or 17 years old, you must include a letter from your parent(s) or legal guardian(s) to show that they support your application. This letter must confirm all of the following:

• Their relationship to you.
• That they consent to your application as a Student.
• That they consent to your living arrangements in the UK.
• If you are applying for entry clearance, that they consent to your independent travel to the UK.

If one parent or legal guardian has legal custody or sole responsibility for you, the letter must confirm this and be signed by that parent or legal guardian. If not, then both parents or legal guardians must give their consent and the letter must be signed by both parents or legal guardians.

An Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate is issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), which gives you security clearance to study certain subject areas where the knowledge gained may have application in the development of weapons of mass destruction (for example, certain science subjects, mathematics, engineering, technology or medicine). 

If your course leads to a qualification at master's or doctorate level, a postgraduate qualification abroad, or you are a Short-term student, ask the university whether you need an ATAS clearance certificate for the course. You can also find out if you need an ATAS clearance certificate or whether you are exempt because of your nationality.

Your institution must confirm on your CAS whether you require an ATAS clearance certificate. If you do, you must apply to the FCDO and obtain your ATAS clearance certificate before you submit your Student route application.

When your ATAS clearance certificate is issued, it is valid for six months to use in a Student route application. Once you have used it in your application, it gives you security clearance for the whole proposed period of study on your CAS. You will not need to apply again unless your original course end date is delayed or postponed by more than three months or your course contents or research proposal change. 

You are a ‘low-risk’ applicant if you apply under the Student route , and you have a passport issued by one of the countries or territories listed in paragraph ST 22.1 of Appendix Student of the Immigration Rules.

‘Low-risk' applicants do not need to submit evidence of their qualifications or submit evidence that they satisfy the financial requirements in an application. The Home Office calls this the “differentiation arrangements” for low-risk applicants.

However, it is very important that as a low-risk applicant you still obtain the evidence of your qualifications and your money, even though you do not need to send them.

This is because the Home Office can request this evidence as part of its decision-making process and will refuse your application if you are unable to provide it by the given deadline.

The Student route application requires you to declare and provide details of any criminal convictions, including traffic offences, that you have obtained in any country.

This is because the Immigration Rules include provision to refuse the application of someone with certain criminal convictions, under the general grounds for refusal (see next section).

You are not required to obtain or include any specific evidence relating to the convictions.

For further details about the types of convictions that you must declare, see the Home Office document Naturalisation as a British citizen - a guide for applicants. This guidance is aimed at those applying for British nationality, but the information about criminal convictions is relevant to those applying for either a visa or permission.

If you have ever lived in Northern Ireland, you will need to confirm this when you complete your application, and the Home Office will contact you and ask you to complete a DAT1 form. The form is an authorisation to run a criminal records check with the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

When you make a Student route application, there is a chance that it could be refused by the Home Office under the 'general grounds for refusal' (set out in the Immigration Rules).

The Home Office has detailed internal guidance on the general grounds for refusal, with separate guidance for applications in your home country (entry clearance) or applications in the UK (permission to stay). The guidance for permission to stay applications summarises that Home Office staff should be checking applications for:

“...evidence of any adverse

• behaviour (using deception including false representation, fraud, forgery, non-disclosure of material facts or failure to cooperate)
• character, conduct or associations (criminal history, deportation order, travel ban, exclusion, non-conducive to public good, national security)
• immigration history (breaching conditions, using deception in an application).”

The Home Office can also refuse your application if you have an outstanding debt for NHS treatment of £500 or more - see Healthcare for information about receiving NHS treatment in the UK.

Other general grounds for refusal include:

• Staying in the UK beyond the end of your immigration permission (being an overstayer).
• Health issues.
• Not attending an interview if you are asked to do so.
• Breach of conditions, which means doing something your immigration permission does not permit you to do, for example working more hours than allowed.

The Student route application has questions about these matters and it is very important to answer them honestly, as not doing so can have very serious consequences, including accusations of deception and the refusal of your application and any future application you want to make. 

Seek help and advice from your Student sponsor before you make your application if you think any of the general grounds for refusal might apply to you.

Both your Student sponsor and the Home Office use the same system to calculate the time limit in years and months. Individual days or weeks are rounded up or down to the nearest month. 

For example, three months and ten days is rounded down to three months while three months and three weeks is rounded up to four months.

The Immigration Rules make it clear that the whole duration of your stay in the UK while on the Student route is counted, including:

• Extra periods of time added to your Student visa or permission before and after your course.
• Any holidays or vacations.
• Time spent outside of the UK.
• Any time spent not studying.
• Any time spent on a different level of course.
• Any time previously spent studying on the Student route (including on Tier 4).

The Home Office's Student and Child Student guidance confirms that if your Student visa or permission is cancelled (formerly known as curtailed), only the period before the new expiry date is counted.

If you are under 18, the time limits are not applicable to your Student route application. From your 18th birthday, you can spend up to two years on a Student visa or with Student permission studying courses that lead to a qualification below degree level. You can spend the two years studying a single course or several courses.

The time limit applies, whether you apply under the  Student route  inside or outside the UK. Time you have spent studying with any other type of immigration permission is not counted.

The two-year cap is extended to two years and 11 months if you have never studied in the UK on a Student visa before and you are applying under the  Student route  to study a two-year course.

If you are applying under the  Student route  to study a course that requires you spending up to 12 months at sea, speak to your Student sponsor directly to check whether the course is one which attracts a longer limit, of three years or three years and six months.

The time limit on study on degree-level courses applies to the Student route  and the Tier 4 route . Only Student permission you have been granted to study degree-level courses will be counted. Student permission you had before your 18th birthday will not be counted.

In most cases, this limit is five years. However, for students studying at a higher education provider with a track record of compliance, this may be increased to five years and 11 months.

Some courses are exempt from the five-year limit when you apply under the  Student  route to study them, including medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, architecture and some legal qualifications. If you later make another application to study a different course, the time you were granted to study these usually exempt courses will be counted.  

On Student route applications for study at postgraduate level and above, there are no longer any time limits.

The Covid-19: Guidance for Student sponsors, migrants and for Short-term students confirms that the time limits for those studying courses at degree-level and below degree-level, will remain the same. Discretion may be applied in the future by the Home Office if the length of time granted to you under the Student route  would take you over the time limit as a result of Covid-19.