Apply for a Student visa from outside the UK

Please familiarise yourself with the list of required supporting documents before you start the visa application process.  In particular please pay attention to the financial requirement as you may need to hold finances for a 28 consecutive day period before you submit your visa application, please see our Money required webpage for full details

When you are applying overseas you may be required to include a tuberculosis (TB) test, please check UKVI tuberculosis tests for visa applicants information to see if this is required

You must have received your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number by email before you apply. Please note that each CAS can be used to apply once.  If you are starting a new course at Bristol, a relevant admissions team will issue your CAS once you have met all the conditions of your offer. If you have already started a course and need another new visa to complete it, please contact Student Visas at student-visas@bristol.ac.uk to receive up-to-date visa advice and instructions for how to request a CAS

You will need to have a passport that is valid at the point of your Student visa application.  Your passport does not need to be valid for the entire length of your course when you first enter the UK.  Please note, if you apply for and receive a new passport whilst your Student visa application is under consideration, you should inform us so that we can update your CAS (if it has already been issued) with your new passport number.  If you receive a new passport and your vignette (visa sticker in your passport) has been printed into your previous passport, then provided that you have both passports you can travel into the UK bringing both your new and previous passport with the vignette in it

If you are hoping to bring your dependants with you, see Bringing your family and dependants for information regarding who is eligible to come to the UK as a dependant and what documents they will need to prepare to support their visa application 

You can submit your visa application up to 6 months before the start of your course; if you submit your visa application more than 6 months before the start date of your course it will be refused

If applying outside the UK, please remember that you must arrive in the UK before your course start date, hence it is important to allow enough time for your application to be processed. Applications should take about 3 weeks to be decided and up to another 10 days to receive the entry clearance sticker in your passport.  Most countries offer a priority 5 day service if you pay an additional fee, please see the VFS Global website for more details. Please also use this tool to learn about the approximate processing times in your country 

Follow the UKVI apply for a Student visa instructions and fill in the online application form

Some nationals including EU, EEA and Swiss nationals - should be able to use the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app which will use a chip in their passport to verify an applicant’s identity. If the chip is broken, or someone is unable to use the app, then they will be directed to a Visa Application Centre to enrol biometrics instead. See Using the 'UK Immigration: ID Check' app for information about how to use the app on your phone

If you cannot use the UK Immigration: ID Check app you will be directed to a VAC to enrol your biometrics.  Please see the gov.uk website to find your nearest VAC

As part of the process you will be required to pay the visa application fee, which is currently £524 for the 3 week Standard service or you can pay the standard visa fee of £524 plus an additional £500 for the premium 5 day service

• IHS fees
  • when you apply for your visa you will also be required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, (IHS) which is set at £776 per each year of visa and is calculated in 6-month blocks.  As you are applying overseas please be aware that the overall amount may be more than this due to currency fluctuations.  As the amount charged is based on visa length and not course length please note that wrap-up time granted after the CAS end date will also be included in the total e.g.
  • If you are studying a 1 year masters, your visa expiry date will be 4 months after the course end date so you will be charged a year and 6 months
  • If you are studying a 3 year undergraduate course, your visa expiry date will be 4 months after the course end date so you will be charged 3 years and 6 months
  • If you are studying a 4 year PhD, your visa expiry date will be 4 months after the course end date so you will be charged 4 years and 6 months
  • Please visit this webpage for information on how the UKVI calculate the IHS payments. Wrap-up time awarded after the CAS end date will be counted as well, so a student taking a 4-year PhD programme for example will be liable for 4.5 years of IHS payments upfront
  • When completing the IHS payment, if you are applying for another Student visa to complete your current course please use your new CAS course start date in the 'course start date' box, not your original course start date, to ensure that the IHS is calculated correctly

• IHS refunds
  • When a new Student visa application has been made in the UK a refund may be possible if you paid IHS twice for the same period, see UKVI information about refunds as well as UKCISA both include when refunds are paid 
• IHS refunds for EU or Swiss nationals
  • If you are an EU or Swiss national you may be eligible for a refund if you have an EHIC card covering your stay.  However, if you claim a refund it is important to note that:
  • you will not be able to work in the UK. This is because, if you work in the UK your EHIC card will no longer be valid as your home country will no longer be responsible for your healthcare while you’re in the UK.  If you claim a refund and then start working you will need to contact the health authority in your home country to confirm what you may be covered for and are likely to need to consider buying insurance to cover any additional healthcare required. 
  • your medical access is limited to medically necessary treatment only
  • you cannot repay the refund if you change your mind, or if your circumstances change.
  • For full details see Immigration health surcharge for students from the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland in the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

You will receive the visa decision by email.  If you attended a biometrics appointment at a Visa Application Centre you will also receive a vignette in your passport. 

The earliest a Student visa can be valid from is one month before the CAS start date, or 7 days before the CAS start date if you are doing a course that is under 6 months in duration and is not a pre-sessional course. This is provided you state that as anticipated date of travel on your application form

Students with an eVisa will be required to enter after the start date of the Student permission written in their decision email, while those who have a 90-day vignette will need to travel while the vignette is valid. In both cases you must also observe the latest acceptance date for your programme. To be able to register you the University will need to see either a stamp on the vignette (if applicable) or other proof of travel showing that you entered the UK during the validity of your Student visa. If you arrive before the start date of your vignette/digital status, you will not be permitted to register. 

After you have received your visa decision by email:

• you will be invited to create an eVisa account when your visa is granted.  If the link in your visa decision email does not work please go directly to the UKVI website to create your account (Gov.uk). 
• if you used the 'UK Immigration: ID Check' app to apply for your visa, you will already have a UKVI account and will receive an eVisa.  You will be able to view your eVisa in your account when your visa is granted
• once your UKVI account is created, you can view your immigration status and its conditions at any time use the ‘view and prove’ service on the GOV.UK portal. This function will also allow you to prove your immigration status to the University and employers
• generate a share code prior to travelling to the UK from the view and prove service to share with the carrier.  You will also require this share code for registering at the University when you attend a Student document check
• see our eVisas webpage for full information about eVisas

As soon as you receive your visa, please check the information is correct, including the visa end date. To check if you have been granted the correct end date see our webpage for information on how long your visa should be granted. If there is an error, you must take action, see our webpage for full details on how to check and report errors.

If your vignette has an error please speak to the Visa Application Centre who issued the vignette and please contact us for advice.

Students with an eVisa will be required to enter after the start date of the Student permission written in their decision email, while those who have a 90-day vignette will need to travel while the vignette is valid. In both cases you must also observe the latest acceptance date for your programme. To be able to register you the University will need to see either a stamp on the vignette (if applicable) or other proof of travel showing that you entered the UK during the validity of your Student visa. If you arrive before the start date of your vignette/digital status, you will not be permitted to register. 

If you are a non-visa national and you plan to travel to the UK before the start date of your Student visa, you will most likely be admitted as Visitor on that occasion. Please note that in order to activate your Student visa you will then be required to leave the UK and re-enter after the visa start date.

Before travelling into the UK generate a share code from the view and prove service to share with the carrier.  You will also require this share code for registering at the University when you attend a Student document check

Please read our Student visa essential information carefully to ensure that you understand your obligations as a Student visa holder