Applying for a Student visa from outside the UK

Before you start your Student visa application please check that you meet the UK immigration and eligibility requirements.

Student visa application guides 

Our visa application guides show you the step-by-step process of applying for a visa from outside the UK. Please select the second guide if you have an EU/EEA/Swiss passport.

Applying from outside the UK: visa guide

Applying from outside the UK: visa guide for EU/EEA/Swiss

Where can you apply for a Student visa?

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

When can you apply?

You can apply for a Student visa up to 6 months before your course starts when applying outside the UK. Your course start date is listed on your CAS. Students starting a degree in September will have a course start date of 16 September 2024.

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, and you should find out about the deadlines to pay your deposit and apply for a CAS.

If you leave these processes too late, you may not receive your CAS in time and may not be able to apply for a Student visa.

A Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) is valid for 6 months when applying for your visa from outside of the UK.

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

Advertised processing times are normally three weeks for a Student visa, see the Gov.uk page for processing times. You may experience delays, so it is important to apply as soon as you have your CAS and meet the requirements. For information about application centre opening times and faster Priority and Super Priority services see the Gov.uk website.

Please note that the Student visa application is made on the date you pay for it (normally online) and not the date you submit your documents. This is important as many students must have the required money for 28 consecutive days and your bank statements must not be more than one month old at the time of application. Read more about the documents and money you need on our Documents page and our Financial Requirements and the 28 day rule page.

Applying online

You must make an online application for a Student visa.

Online student applications for EEA and Swiss students

Please note: The application process differs for EEA and Swiss Students with a biometric passport.

• You'll normally apply online and complete your application using the 'UK Immigration: ID Check' app to scan your identity document instead of visiting an application centre
• You'll receive your Student Immigration Status digitally, sometimes called a Student e-visa
• 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, and you will not be collecting a BRP card on arrival in the UK
• Once you start the online Student visa application you will be directed towards the 'UK Immigration: ID Check' app if you have an EU, EEA or Swiss Passport
• You'll be asked whether you have a biometric passport and you or somebody else you know has an appropriate smart phone
• 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. See the normal process of applying described later for non-EEA and Swiss Students.

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

Online Student applications for students who are not from the EEA or Switzerland

If you are not a national of the EEA or Switzerland, and you are coming to study for longer than 6 months, at the end of your online visa application form you'll be asked where you would like to collect your Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) Card when you arrive in the UK.

The BRP card is a small plastic card which includes a microchip containing a digital record of your fingerprints and photograph. Your BRP card confirms your identity, your visa permission (your Student visa for the University of Westminster), your visa conditions and rights to work and study.

You cannot choose to collect your BRP from the University. We are unable to offer the Alternative Collection Location (ACL) service, so you'll need to arrange for your BRP card to be delivered to a UK Post Office for collection.

At the end of the online Student visa application form you'll be taken to the VFS Global or TLS Contact 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 now 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.

What are the basic visa application costs?

The current Student visa application fee is £490. 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.

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 £490. Dependants usually need to pay the same amount as you.

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

If your family will be coming to the UK read the UKCISA information for dependants.

When can you come to the UK on a Student visa?

If you are granted a Student visa, the date on which you will be allowed to enter the UK depends on the length of the course, and the start date on your CAS. Please remember that your Entry Clearance visa or the e-visa have to be granted and become valid before you travel.

Successful visa application 

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

• The length of your Student visa 
• Your visa conditions
• The location to collect your BRP Card (if you are required to collect a BRP Card)
• Information for those arriving in the UK with an e-visa
• Information on whether you will need to register with the Police on arrival in the UK

Some nationals from Asia Pacific and China, known as APAC countries, will not receive a personal letter with these details but they will receive a generic letter.

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 (e-visa). You will not be collecting a BRP card if you have an e-visa.

Everybody else will have their passports returned to them containing a sticker, the sticker is called a vignette. This sticker or vignette gives you the permission to arrive in the UK within a 90-day window in order to collect your BRP from your designated UK Post Office.

If your course is less than six months, you'll receive a vignette or sticker in your passport for the full length of your Student visa and you will not collect a BRP Card.

Refusals

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

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

If you've received a visa refusal because of a credibility interview the University can request a transcript of your interview from UK Visas and Immigration which may help you in an administrative review (appeal) application.

Contact Student Advice to discuss your next steps.

Arriving in the UK on a Student visa

Following a successful Student visa application and when you are preparing for your arrival in the UK, 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. The stamp acts as proof that you have entered the UK in accordance with the rules of your visa.

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 Student visa is valid as the University will not enrol you for a course that requires a Student 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 e-visa as you won't be able to enrol on a course and attend classes as a visitor. You could also risk your Student 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. It's better to see an Immigration official/Border officer and request a stamp in your passport to prove that you've entered the UK during the validity of your visa rather than enter the UK via the eGates.

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.

How to organise your Student visa in the UK and/or collect your BRP card

If you are an EEA or Swiss national who has used the 'UK Immigration: ID check' app and received your visa in the form of an online digital status/e-visa, then this can be shared with anyone who needs to check your visa status by using the View and Prove service. You will not collect a BRP Card.

Stays of up to 6 months

If you're applying for a visa to come to the UK for 6 months or less, eg for a pre-sessional English language course or an Education Abroad Semester, your Student visa permission will be issued on a sticker/vignette and placed in your passport. The sticker will cover the whole of the time you are allowed to be in the UK. You will not need to collect a BRP Card.

Stays longer than 6 months

If you are applying for a Student visa to study a course which is more than 6 months long, your visa permission will initially be granted on a sticker in your passport. The visa in your passport will only be valid for 90 days.

You must travel to the UK within this 90-day period.

Normally, you'll need to collect your BRP card within 10 days of arriving in the UK, though Post Offices have been advised to keep BRPs for up to 60 days. The Home Office confirmed that those unable to collect their BRP while Coronavirus measures are in place will not be penalised. Nevertheless, you should arrange to collect your BRP as soon as it is possible and safe.

To collect your BRP you'll need to show your 90-day visa, which should be in your passport, and the visa decision letter. Remember to bring this letter with you to the UK.

Where you collect your BRP will depend on the Post Office you selected on your Student visa application form and will be described in your decision letter.

If you are 17 or under you can't collect your BRP card yourself from a Post Office. You'll need a nominated adult to collect it for you. See the Government website for further details. You'll need your BRP card for enrolment.

Student visa errors

When you receive notification of your Student visa Permission (whether this is a decision letter, vignette, BRP card or e-visa) you must always check for errors. If you feel that the information on your visa is not correct you must act quickly to correct the mistake.

The two most common Student visa errors are listed below:

• Most degree courses are more than a year long. Your student visa expiry date should be four months after the course end date on your CAS. If you receive a shorter visa then you may have an error.
• Most students on courses longer than 6 months should have a Student visa that allows them to work part-time for 20 hours a week (not 10). If you are told you can work less, then you may have an error.

The UK Council For International Student Affairs Website describes the processes for correcting Visa and BRP card errors including key deadlines. You can also email Student Advice. XXX

BRP collection problems

Every year some students experience long delays collecting their BRP card from the Post Office. Check your emails and junk mail for information from Visas and Immigration about delays caused by technical problems. Check your decision letter to make sure that you were not given a sticker/vignette in your passport for the full duration of the visa rather than a 90-day window to enter the UK. Contact Student advice with a clear description of your issue with an attached copy of your decision letter and visa.

There is an error on my BRP or digital visa

For basic errors on your BRP such as your work conditions, length of stay, name, date of birth or nationality, you will have to report these on the UK Government website within 10 days of receiving your BRP. Failure to report an error within 10 days could result in you having to apply and pay for a BRP replacement. If you spot a basic error on your digital visa, you are required to report it via the ‘view and prove’ page.

Dependents

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 have changed from January 2024. You will no longer be able to bring dependants to join you in the UK if you are studying for a postgraduate degree (undergraduate degree students are also unable to bring dependants).

For further details, please see the overview of changes on the UKCISA website. Please note there are some exceptions for students who are already studying in the UK before this date.