Student Visa

What Is the UK Student Visa

The Student Visa is the points-based UK study route under Appendix Student, which replaced Tier 4 (General) on 5 October 2020. It permits a person aged 16 or over to study full-time with a licensed Student sponsor on a course at an eligible level, and is the principal permission used by international undergraduates, postgraduates, and pre-sessional English students.

You must score 70 points: 50 for a valid Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS), 10 for the financial requirement, and 10 for English. Missing any single category produces a mandatory refusal. Time spent as a Student does not count toward the continuous residence required for ILR on any sponsored or family route.

Who Is the Student Visa For

The Student Visa is for international students aged 16 or over who hold an unconditional offer from a UK Student sponsor licence holder and can meet the financial, English language and suitability rules. It covers undergraduate and postgraduate study at universities, further education at RQF level 3 or above with eligible providers, pre-sessional English courses of up to eleven months, and approved foundation programmes.

Typical applicants include a school leaver starting a Bachelor’s, a postgraduate on a taught Master’s, a PhD candidate, and a student on a pre-sessional course before a longer qualification. Students progressing between two UK courses can also apply from inside the UK. Where the pupil is under 16 or studying at an independent school under Appendix Child Student, see our Child Student Visa guide.

Eligibility at a Glance

You must satisfy each of the following before applying.

• Aged 16 or over on the date of application.
• A valid CAS from a licensed Student sponsor, issued within the six months before application and not previously used.
• A course at an eligible level (RQF 3 or above below degree, RQF 6, 7 or 8 for degree-level, or an approved pre-sessional or foundation course linked to a longer qualification).
• The financial requirement met: first year’s fees (less any deposit) plus living costs of £1,483 per month in London or £1,136 per month outside London, for up to nine months.
• Funds held in a qualifying account in the applicant’s, a parent’s or legal guardian’s name for at least 28 consecutive days, ending no more than 31 days before the application.
• English at CEFR B2 for degree-level or CEFR B1 below degree, subject to exemptions.
• Suitability under Part 9 of the Immigration Rules.
• An ATAS certificate where the course and your nationality require it.
• Parental consent if you are 16 or 17, and a TB test certificate if you apply from a TB screening country.

The Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)

The CAS is the single most important document in a Student Visa application. It is a unique reference number issued by your sponsor (university) after you accept an unconditional offer, and it carries 50 of the 70 points required. You cannot make a valid Student Visa application without a CAS.

The CAS must be issued within six months of the application date and can only be used once. The sponsor must be on the Home Office register both when the CAS is assigned and when the application is decided. The CAS records the course level, mode of study, start and end dates, fees, any deposit paid, your personal details and passport number, and where relevant the English assessment and ATAS requirements.

Licensed Student Sponsors and Track Record

Only providers holding a Student sponsor licence and appearing on the published Home Office register can issue a CAS. The register records the provider’s legal name, its licence type, and whether it holds Track Record status as a Higher Education Provider with a track record of compliance.

Track record status matters because these providers benefit from reduced documentary requirements under the differential evidence rule, can record an internal English assessment on the CAS for degree-level applicants, and can certify that you meet financial and English requirements without the Home Office verifying each document.

If your sponsor is not on the register at the date of application, or loses its licence between CAS being issued and the decision, the CAS is invalid and the application fails. Check the register before paying a deposit.

Course-Level Requirements and Mode of Study

Your course must be at an eligible level under paragraph ST 14.1 of Appendix Student: RQF 3 (A-level or IB), RQF 4 and 5 (higher nationals and diplomas), RQF 6 (undergraduate degrees), RQF 7 (Master’s and postgraduate diplomas), or RQF 8 (PhD and doctoral qualifications).

The route is designed for full-time, in-person study. Part-time study is permitted only in narrow cases at RQF 7 or above, with sponsor approval, and never below degree level. Distance learning is not permitted. Blended courses are acceptable provided the face-to-face element is substantial and campus attendance is required. Pre-sessional English courses qualify where taught by a Higher Education Provider with a track record of compliance, last no more than eleven months, and lead to a further course with the same sponsor.

The Financial Requirement and Maintenance Funds

You must show you can pay the first year’s fees and support yourself without recourse to public funds. The tuition element is the first year of fees on your CAS, less any deposit already paid. The maintenance element is a fixed monthly figure under Appendix Finance.

For courses in London (the City of London and the 32 London boroughs) you must evidence £1,483 per month. For courses outside London you must evidence £1,136 per month. Maintenance is capped at nine months, setting the maximum at £13,347 in London and £10,224 outside London. Shorter courses are evidenced pro rata.

Where you have been in the UK with valid permission for at least twelve months on the date of application, the financial requirement is usually waived under the differential evidence rule. Where your sponsor is a Higher Education Provider with a track record of compliance and the CAS confirms the requirement is met, the Home Office will usually accept that without full underlying statements.

Proof of Funds: 28-Day Rule and Qualifying Accounts

Funds must be held for at least 28 consecutive days in a qualifying account, ending no more than 31 days before the application date. The closing balance must be dated within that window, and the balance must not drop below the required total at any point during the 28 days.

Qualifying accounts are personal bank or building society accounts (current, savings, pension or investment) where funds can be accessed straight away or within a reasonable time. Stocks, shares, bonds and other non-accessible assets do not count. Funds in the account of a third party other than a parent or legal guardian do not count.

Where funds are held by a parent or guardian, provide birth certificate or other relationship evidence plus a signed letter giving consent. Official financial sponsorship counts where the sponsor is a Home Office-recognised body (national government, the UK government, the British Council, or an international scholarship body); a sponsor letter then replaces the bank statements.

The English Language Requirement

The required level depends on the course: CEFR B2 across reading, writing, speaking and listening for degree-level study at RQF 6, 7 or 8, and CEFR B1 across the four skills for below-degree study at RQF 3, 4 or 5. Pre-sessional courses have their own thresholds on the CAS.

There are four ways to meet the requirement: pass an approved Secure English Language Test (SELT) at the required CEFR level within two years of application; hold a qualification taught in English and confirmed by UK ENIC as equivalent to a UK Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD; be a national of a majority English-speaking country (including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States and the English-speaking Caribbean states); or, for degree-level applicants only, rely on an internal assessment by a Higher Education Provider with a track record of compliance, recorded on the CAS.

Academic Progress and the ATAS Certificate

Where you are applying for a further UK course after completing one, the academic progression rules in paragraph ST 14.3 of Appendix Student apply. The further course must represent genuine academic progress, usually at a higher level, or at the same level where necessary for your career. The sponsor confirms progression on the CAS.

An Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate is required where you are a national of a country not listed in Appendix ATAS and intend to study or research in a sensitive science, technology, engineering or mathematics subject. Courses in scope are identified on the CAS; obtain the certificate before applying. ATAS applications are free and take up to twenty working days.

What Your Student Visa Allows and Work Rights

The visa is granted for the length of the course plus a wrap-around period. For courses of twelve months or more, the visa covers the course plus four months. For courses of six to twelve months, it covers the course plus two months. For pre-sessional courses under six months, it usually covers the course plus one week.

During the grant you may study the course recorded on your CAS, travel in and out of the UK, and work within the limits below. You may use NHS services for the period covered by your IHS payment. You may not claim public funds such as Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Child Benefit or Council Tax Reduction, and you may not work as a professional sportsperson or sports coach.

Work rights turn on the level of your course and the type of sponsor, under paragraph ST 26.1 of Appendix Student.

• Full-time course at degree level or above (RQF 6, 7 or 8) with a Higher Education Provider that has a track record of compliance: up to 20 hours a week during term-time and full-time in vacations. Twenty hours is a hard weekly cap, not an average.
• Full-time course at RQF 7 or above with any sponsor: the same 20-hour term-time limit.
• Below degree level with a further education college or independent school: no work, paid or unpaid.
• Pre-sessional course taken before a main course: up to 10 hours a week term-time where the sponsor confirms it on the CAS.

Work placements forming an assessed, integral part of the course are permitted and do not count toward the 20-hour limit. Penalties for breach are severe: leave can be curtailed, the sponsor’s licence suspended or revoked, and the employer can face civil penalties under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006.

Self-employment, freelancing, running your own business, and acting as a company director where you draw a salary are all prohibited on the Student route, whether the client or account is UK-based or overseas. HMRC registration as self-employed, or invoicing clients while bearing business risk, is evidence of a breach. The Graduate Visa permits self-employment once the course is complete.

Student Dependants After 1 January 2024

The dependant rules were tightened on 1 January 2024 under Statement of Changes HC 1780. A Student Visa holder can now only bring a spouse, civil partner, unmarried partner or child as a dependant where the main applicant is studying on one of the following.

• A PhD or other doctoral qualification at RQF 8.
• Another research-based higher degree, such as a research-led Master’s.
• A government-sponsored course of six months or longer, where the sponsor is the applicant’s home government or an equivalent recognised body.

Taught undergraduate and taught master’s courses do not attract dependant rights. Students already in the UK on a pre-1 January 2024 grant retain their dependants on extension. Where dependants are eligible, each must meet a separate financial requirement of £845 per month for up to nine months in London and £680 per month outside London.

Extending Your Student Visa and Academic Progression

You can extend from inside the UK where you still meet the requirements, your further course starts within 28 days of your current visa expiry, and the progression rules are satisfied. Extensions follow the same points-based structure: a fresh CAS, up-to-date financial evidence, and re-evidence of English where required. Where the extension is lodged before the current visa expires, section 3C of the Immigration Act 1971 continues the existing visa (including work rights) until a decision is made.

The progression rule requires the further course to represent genuine progress, usually at a higher RQF level (Bachelor’s to Master’s, or Master’s to PhD). Progression at the same level is permitted in narrower cases where the new course is clearly necessary for your career. Repeat courses at the same or lower level are a common refusal ground.

Switching to the Graduate Visa in 2026 and 2027

The Graduate Visa is an unsponsored post-study work route for students who have successfully completed an eligible UK course. You apply from inside the UK before the Student Visa expires; the sponsor must confirm completion to the Home Office. Graduate Visa holders can work in any occupation at any skill level, can be self-employed, and can look for work. No CAS, sponsor or minimum salary is required. Time on this visa does not count toward Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Under the 2026 framework, undergraduate and taught Master’s completers are granted two years of leave, and PhD or doctoral completers three years. These figures apply to applications made on or before 31 December 2026.

For applications made on or after 1 January 2027, the grant for undergraduate and Master’s completers is cut to 18 months. The three-year PhD grant is unchanged. The change applies to the date of the Graduate Visa application, not the Student Visa grant, so students finishing a three-year undergraduate course in summer 2027 will receive an 18-month grant even if they started under the old regime. Where Skilled Worker is the goal, 18 months leaves less time to secure a qualifying sponsored role than two years.

Switching to the Skilled Worker Visa

You can switch in-country to the Skilled Worker Visa where you have a job offer at the required skill level (RQF 3 or above) from a licensed Worker sponsor, meet the salary threshold for the occupation, and have completed the course. PhD students can sometimes switch within three months of the PhD end date.

Time on the Student Visa does not count toward the five-year continuous residence required for ILR under Skilled Worker; the clock starts on the grant of the Skilled Worker Visa. Time on the Graduate Visa likewise does not count toward ILR, although it can count as lawful residence for the ten-year long residence route in narrow cases. Our Skilled Worker Visa guide sets out the sponsorship, salary and English requirements in full.

Absences, Attendance and Losing Sponsorship

Students and sponsors have complementary duties under the sponsor guidance. The sponsor must monitor attendance and engagement, report unauthorised absences and withdrawal, and tell the Home Office if your circumstances change in a way that affects sponsorship. You must attend classes, engage with the course recorded on the CAS, and update the Home Office if visa details change.

Where a sponsor’s licence is revoked, suspended, or surrendered, any CAS it has issued becomes invalid and existing students face curtailment. The Home Office typically grants 60 days to find an alternative sponsor, transfer the CAS, and submit a new application. Where the sponsor withdraws the student (failed exams, non-attendance or disciplinary proceedings), leave is curtailed. The window to act is short; take advice quickly.

How Whytecroft Ford Can Help

Refusals rarely turn on the course itself. They cluster around financial evidence (statements not covering a full 28 days, non-qualifying account holders, fees already paid not properly deducted), followed by CAS errors and mismatched English evidence. A single paperwork gap can cost a student a full term.

We assist on eligibility and CAS review before the sponsor issues the reference, financial evidence audits, English language review, full application preparation, and onward switching into the Graduate Visa or Skilled Worker Visa. Call +44 (0)208 757 5751, email info@whytecroftford.com, or book a consultation.

Sources and Further Reading

• Student visa: overview, GOV.UK
• Immigration Rules Appendix Student, GOV.UK
• Graduate visa, GOV.UK

Disclaimer

This guide is published by Whytecroft Ford Ltd for general information only. It is not legal advice and does not create a solicitor-client or adviser-client relationship. Immigration law changes frequently; the rules and figures stated here reflect the position at the publication date and are subject to change. Small differences in evidence or circumstance can produce different outcomes.

Do not act, or refrain from acting, on the basis of this guide without taking professional advice on your circumstances. Whytecroft Ford Ltd is regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority, registration F201900075. To take advice, call +44 (0)208 757 5751 or email info@whytecroftford.com.

Sources 

• Visit the UK as a Standard Visitor, GOV.UK
• Immigration Rules Appendix V: Visitor, GOV.UK
• Home Office immigration and nationality fees, GOV.UK