Apply for a Student visa from inside the UK

Not everyone who holds a UK visa is automatically eligible to apply for a Student visa within the UK. Student Visas can help you assess whether you are eligible to apply here or whether you will need to leave the UK to make your application. Please contact us for advice in good time.

If you already hold Tier 4 or Student leave, to apply in the UK you will need to meet the Academic Progression requirements. 

You should be eligible to apply in the UK provided you are not here on immigration bail, and you currently have any type of immigration permission except:

  • visitor
  • short-term student
  • parent of a child student
  • seasonal worker
  • domestic worker in a private household
  • permission outside the Immigration Rules​

For information on how to apply for a Student visa outside the UK please visit this webpage. 

How to apply for your Student visa

It is important you have all the necessary documents and information available before you start, to make a successful application.  When applying for a visa inside the UK you must apply before your current leave expires. 

  1. Get your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number
    • If are a new student coming to Bristol from a different UK educational institution, a relevant admissions team will issue your CAS once you have met all the conditions of your offer. Please note that if you submit your visa application more than 3 months before the course start date it will be refused
    • If you are a current Bristol student and can extend your visa in the UK, you can email us at student-visas@bristol.ac.uk to receive up-to-date visa advice and instructions for how to request a CAS
  2. Get the documents you must prepare. When you make a new visa application you will need to meet the financial requirements again, unless you have been living in the UK with permission (of any visa type) for 12 months or more on the date you apply for the visa and are making your visa application in the UK. In this case, there is no requirement to show finances. However, if you cannot meet this 12-month residence requirement, you will require either proof of official financial sponsorship or private funds in a bank account for a 28 day period for one year’s tuition fees plus maintenance (living expenses). You can read more about financial requirements here 
  3. Find out out if you qualify to apply under the differential evidence requirement and how this may affect the list of documents you may need to submit with your application
  4. If you have any dependants (partner or/and children) applying with you, please visit our Dependants webpage. For your partner to apply for a visa extension with you, you will need proof of your partner residing at the same address, such as a council tax or utility bill, bank statement in their name, or other official letters addressed either to you jointly or to them at your address
  5. You can find out about the current application costs on this government webpage
  6. As well as the application fee, you will also need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, which is set at £776 per each year of visa and is calculated in 6-month blocks. 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 
      • 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
      • 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) 
  7. Once you have received your CAS, start the UKVI online application form
  8. You may be asked to use the Using the 'UK Immigration: ID Check' to validate your application. The form will direct you to this option at the start of the process. See Using the 'UK Immigration: ID Check' for more information
  9. If the application does not allow you to use the UK Immigration: ID Check app, you will be directed to book and attend a biometric appointment during the application process 
  10. To submit your application you will need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) and then the application fee. You should then be able to download PDF's of your completed application form, which can act as proof of application
  11. Receiving your visa decision and your eVisa
    • you will receive your visa decision by email
    • if you applied for your visa and attended a biometric appointment - 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
    • check your eVisa for errors including the end date and report any errors, see our webpage for full details on how to do this

Please see our eVisas webpage for full details on eVisas.