6-week pre-sessional course visa information
Students taking the 6-week pre-sessional course will have a choice between taking it in person and online. Please visit pre-sessional course information webpages for further information about that. The expectation is that you will only have a UK visa if you study in person.
If you decide to take the course in person, you will need to obtain a Student visa before coming to the UK. You will be issued a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) that will allow you to apply for a Student visa. Please read about the requirements of a Student visa here. Please allow sufficient time for this as you will need to be in the UK by the time the course starts.
The financial requirements for the visa application will depend on whether you have a combined CAS or a CAS just for the pre-sessional course. With combined CAS you will need to be able to show the whole tuition fee for the 2024/25 academic year plus £9207* for living expenses, all held for 28 days minimum. Please visit our Money Required webpage for further information. You will also need a Tuberculosis test result if you are from a country where TB testing is required - please see this government webpage.
If you are applying for a visa with a CAS that covers just the pre-sessional course, you will need to be able to show £2046* (to cover the living expenses) held for 28 days and will not need a TB test result.
Those students who are taking the pre-sessional course in person and do not not have a combined CAS will receive a CAS for their undergraduate or postgraduate programme once they have satisfied all the conditions of their offer; they should then be able to make that visa application from the UK. They will not need to wait until the visa is granted to start the new course.
If you are taking the course online from your home country, a CAS for the main programme will be issued a bit earlier to allow you to obtain a Student visa and arrive before the start of the academic course. We still recommend that you use Priority service to apply for this visa as Standard service applications tend to take longer in August and September.
If you are already in the UK, please contact Student Visa Advisers for guidance on your specific situation.
*Figures are correct as of 23 January 2024, but the requirement is currently under review and may go up later in 2024.