Key points at a glance
- At Reeds Solicitors LLP, our Immigration Law team can advise and represent you on Student visa applications, including complex cases and dependant applications.
- We can assess your eligibility, review your CAS and supporting evidence, and manage your application from start to finish.
- Our Immigration Solicitors are ranked highly in the Legal 500 2026 and Chambers and Partners 2026.
The Student visa is the main route for international students who want to study at a UK university, college, or other approved education provider. It allows you to live in the UK for the length of your course, work part-time in most cases (most degree level students are permitted to work 20 hours per week during term time and full-time during official holiday periods, although exact conditions depend on the course and sponsor and should always be checked carefully), and in limited circumstances bring family members with you.
Since recent changes to the Immigration Rules, dependant partners and children are only permitted for certain categories of students, including many doctoral and research-based postgraduate students.
The Student visa application depends heavily on your course provider, known as your student sponsor, issuing you with a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).
Everything else in the application, your financial evidence, your English language evidence, and your personal details, needs to match what is recorded on your CAS. Even small inconsistencies can lead to delays or refusal which is why careful preparation matters.
Who can apply for a Student visa?
You can apply for a Student visa if you are aged 16 or over, have been offered a place on a course by a licensed student sponsor, have enough money to support yourself and pay for your course, and can speak, read, write, and understand English to the required standard.
You need a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from your course provider before you apply. The CAS is a unique reference number containing details about you and the course, and it is valid for six months from the date it is issued.
If you are 16 or 17, you will also need written consent from your parent or legal guardian confirming your travel, accommodation, and care arrangements in the UK.
Financial and English language requirements
You need to show you have enough money to cover your course fees for the first year of study (or the full course if it is a year or less) and your living costs for up to nine months. The living costs requirement is currently £1,529 per month if you are studying in London, or £1,171 per month if you are studying outside London.
These funds must have been held in your bank account, or your financial sponsor’s account, for a consecutive 28-day period, ending no more than 31 days before your application. If your financial sponsor has been paying your fees and living costs directly for at least the previous 12 months, you may not need to show this evidence separately, but written confirmation from the sponsor will still be needed.
Some applicants are exempt from providing evidence of maintenance funds. For example, if you have already lived in the UK with valid immigration permission for at least 12 months immediately before your application, you may not need to provide financial evidence, although you must still meet the requirement.
For English language, most students need to show ability at B2 level on the CEFR for degree-level study, or B1 for below-degree-level study, unless your course provider has confirmed you meet the requirement as part of your course assessment.
Visa duration and other requirements
If you are 18 or over and studying at degree level, you can usually stay in the UK for up to five years. If your course is below degree level, you can usually stay for up to two years. Those completing a PhD or other doctoral qualification can stay for up to three years, or the length of the course plus additional time to complete and submit their thesis.
Depending on your nationality and the subject you are studying, you may need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate, particularly for postgraduate research in certain STEM subjects. Some applicants also need to provide tuberculosis test results if applying from a country where this is required.
If you are applying from outside the UK, you can usually apply up to six months before your course start date. If you are applying from inside the UK, you can usually apply up to three months before your course begins. Processing times vary but overseas applications are often decided within around three week.
Application fee and Immigration Health Surcharge
The Home Office fee to apply for a Student visa is £558, whether you are applying from outside or inside the UK. In addition, you will need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (HIS), which is charged at the reduced student rate of £776 per year of your course.
For a typical three-year undergraduate degree, this means the IHS alone comes to £2,328, on top of the £558 application fee. These costs are separate from your tuition fees and living costs.
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How Reeds Solicitors can help
Student visa applications are refused more often than people expect, usually because of small inconsistencies between the CAS, the application form, and the supporting financial or academic evidence. Requirements around the 28-day financial holding period in particular catch out many applicants who submit their evidence at the wrong time.
At Reeds Solicitors, we check every element of a Student visa application against the CAS before submission, so that inconsistencies are caught and corrected early.
We review your CAS carefully against your personal circumstances to check that every detail is consistent and that you meet the underlying eligibility criteria for the route.
We advise on the financial requirement applicable to your course and location, check that your bank statements or sponsor evidence meet the 28-day holding requirement, and identify any issues before they become a problem at application stage.
We advise on whether you need to provide separate English language evidence or whether your course provider’s own assessment satisfies the requirement as well as identifying whether an ATAS certificate applies to your course.
We complete and review the visa application, advise on biometric enrolment or use of the ID Check app, and manage the process through to a decision.
If your course and financial position allow you to bring dependants, we advise on the requirements for partner and child applications and manage these alongside your main application.
If your Student visa application has been refused, we review the refusal reasons and advise on whether an administrative review or a fresh application, with the issues corrected, is the right approach.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Home Office application fee is £558, whether you apply from outside or inside the UK. You will also need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge at the reduced student rate of £776 per year of your course.
You need to show enough to cover your course fees for the first year (or the full course, if it is a year or less) and your living costs, which are £1,529 per month for up to nine months if studying in London, or £1,171 per month for up to nine months outside London. The funds need to have been held for a consecutive 28-day period ending no more than 31 days before your application.
A CAS, or Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, is a unique reference number issued by your course provider that confirms your offer and contains key details used in your visa application. You need a valid CAS to apply for a Student visa, and it‘s valid for six months from the date it’s issued.
If you are 18 or over and studying at degree level, you can usually stay for up to five years. Below degree level, the limit is usually two years. PhD and doctoral students can stay for up to three years, plus additional time to submit their thesis.
Most Student visa holders can work part-time during term time, usually up to 20 hours per week, and full-time during scheduled holidays, subject to the conditions attached to their specific visa. The exact working conditions depend on your course level and are stated on your visa.
This depends on your course level and, in some cases, your funding source. Generally, only students on postgraduate courses of nine months or longer, or those sponsored by a government or international scholarship agency, can bring dependent partners and children. We advise on whether your specific circumstances allow this.
Most students need to show English ability at B2 level for degree-level study or B1 for below-degree-level study. However, if your course provider has already assessed your English as part of the admissions process and confirmed this on your CAS, you may not need to provide a separate test.
If you are applying from outside the UK, the earliest you can apply is six months before your course starts for postgraduate courses over six months, or three months before for other courses. If you are applying from inside the UK, you can usually apply from three months before your course starts.
Many international students use the Student visa as a pathway to longer-term opportunities in the UK. Depending on your circumstances, you may be able to apply for a Graduate visa, switch into the Skilled Worker route, or explore other immigration options. Planning ahead before your studies finish can make the transition significantly smoother
A well-prepared Student visa application, checked carefully against your CAS, gives you the best chance of a smooth decision. Our immigration team at Reeds Solicitors can guide you through the process from application to arrival.
You can contact us through the Reeds Solicitors contact page on our website, by calling 0333 240 7373, or by emailing [email protected].
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