Student visa

You need a CAS before you can apply for your visa.

New BU students would receive the CAS from the International Admissions Team (IAT) [email protected]. As soon as you receive your CAS and you have all your documents ready, apply for your visa.

Current BU students who need to extend their visa, would need to complete the CAS Request Form.

Once the CAS assessment has been completed, you will be emailed with information on applying for your Student visa. You must apply for your visa extension before your visa expires or before you hand in your final coursework (whichever is earlier).

The Student visa application costs £490. The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) fee is calculated as £776 for every year of leave you are granted. The full amount of the IHS must be paid as part of the application.

Students from some countries are not required to provide financial documents under the ‘differential evidence requirement’.

If your nationality is not on the differential evidence requirement list, please see the requirements below:

If you are applying for a visa extension inside the UK and the below 2 rules apply you will not need to show financial documents:

• You have had a valid visa for 12 months or more, and
• If you have not spent 3 months or more outside the UK in the last 12 months

If you are applying for your visa from overseas or are in the UK and have had your visa for less than 12 months you will need to show:

• Any outstanding BU course fees according to your CAS, and
• The living costs of £1,023 (on and after 2 January 2025 this will be £1,136) for every month left of your course, up to a maximum of 9 months. If you have 9 months or more left of your course you would need to show £9,207 (on and after 2 January 2025, this will be £10,224).

The living cost amount for each Dependant of a Student visa applicant is and will remain £680 for every month of visa they get, up to a maximum of 9 months, which is £6,120 for the maximum 9 months.

Those funds must have remained in the bank for a consecutive period of 28 days, and the most recent date that the funds are still showing on the bank statement or letter must be within 31 days of you paying and submitting your visa application (note: this date is not the Visa Application Centre appointment date). Your funds must also remain in place until the visa decision is made as the Home Office could check with the bank before they make their decision.

• Example bank letter (word, 13kb)
• Example bank statement (word, 21kb)

Official financial sponsorship if you are sponsored by a government or scholarship agency you would need to provide a sponsor letter in your visa application – funds do not need to have remained in account for 28 days.

• Example sponsor letter (word, 21kb)

Educational loans can also be used to prove you will be able to support yourself during your studies. The loan must be in your own name (i.e. cannot be joint loan).

Funds held in foreign currencies, i.e. not in British Pound Sterling (GBP), are still acceptable. Unless the relevant UKVI financial requirements caseworker guidance says otherwise, the exchange rate needs to be checked in the OANDA currency converter – please note that the current guidance version 8.0 does mention this for the Iranian Rial (IRR), the Syrian Pound (SYP) and Mongolian Tugrik (MNT). Remember that the exchange rate must be checked for the day your visa application is paid for and submitted, and not for the days that are showing on your financial document. Therefore, we highly recommend that funds are kept in a stable currency and/or more than the required amount to avoid issues with exchange rates changes.

Parent/legal guardian financial documents

In the Student visa application, you can either use your own account to show the funds or you can use your parents/legal guardians. You cannot use any other relatives. If you use your parents account, you will need their bank statements/letter, your birth certificate and parent consent letter.

• Parent consent letter template (word, 21kb)

If any documents are not written in English you would need to include an official English translation and the original document in your visa application.

The translation must include:

• Details of the translation company
• Confirmation that it is an accurate translation of the original document.
• The date of translation.
• The original signature of the translator or an authorised official of the translation company.

You will not need to include a TB certificate:

• If you are extending your visa inside the UK, or
• You have lived for at least 6 months in a country where TB screening is not required.

Otherwise, you will need a TB certificate from a UKVI approved clinic.

As BU are a Higher Education Provider (HEP) with a track record of compliance, you will not be required to include your qualifications in your visa application.

You would be informed if your course requires ATAS, you would need to have applied and had this granted before you can receive the CAS. An ATAS is valid for 6 months from the date it is issued, the ATAS only has to be valid at the point that you apply for the visa. You would need to include the ATAS certificate in your visa application.

You must apply for your Student visa online. Depending on your circumstances there are three different links (but all accessible from GOV.UK website). If you are applying:

1. overseas, use Apply online
2. within the UK and you already hold a Student visa, the link to use is Extend your visa
3. within the UK but currently hold a visa other than Student: Switch to this visa

Your visa application is only submitted after you have paid the visa fee and Immigration Health surcharge fee.

If you have applied for your visa inside the UK, leaving the UK while your application is still being considered, would automatically cancel your application. Therefore, you should remain in the UK, until you receive your visa.

You should immediately contact the Immigration Advice and Compliance Team (IACT) at [email protected] if your visa application is not successful.