If you arrived or will arrive in the UK from 1 January 2021, you will need to apply for a visa to study in the UK. View an outline of the process on the Information for EU/EEA and Swiss students.
The Student Route is for adult students who want to come to or remain in the UK for their post-16 education for more than six months.
These pages aim to identify some of the things you need to think about in preparation for making a student visa application. View full guidance from the UK Home Office.
The information provided on this page is meant as a guide only. While every reasonable effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, the University shall not be responsible for errors, omissions or inaccuracies and accepts no liability for any loss resulting directly or indirectly from using this information or the information published on the linked websites.
If you are accepted unconditionally into one of our courses, ARU will become your licensed student sponsor for the duration of your time in the UK.
As your sponsor we are responsible, under immigration law, for you during your entire duration in the UK. We must tell the UKVI if you do not arrive for the start of your course, change the course you are studying, withdraw from your course, defer or suspend your studies, or if you do not attend classes.
A CAS is the only route to gaining a student visa. It is a unique 14 digit alphanumeric reference number, not a paper document. As a University, we will issue you with a ‘CAS statement’ which will be sent by email.
Your CAS will not be issued until you have met all the University conditions. You will not be issued a CAS if you cannot realistically obtain a visa before the start of your course. See visa processing times from the UK Home Office.
Check your CAS statement carefully and report any incorrect information to [email protected] immediately.
You will need to transfer some of the details on the CAS statement onto your visa application form. Any differences between the information on the CAS and what you provide on the visa application form could result in a visa refusal.
The CAS is valid for six months and can only be used for one visa application.
To obtain a student visa, students must meet the full requirement of the Student Route of the Immigration Rules.
If you are applying for a visa extension you must apply before your current visa ends. If you do not apply before then you become an over-stayer. Please note that overstaying is a criminal offence and Anglia Ruskin University will no longer sponsor you. Your future UK immigration applications may also be affected.
Please make an appointment with our International Student Advice Service (ISAS) who will be able to offer immigration advice and guidance.
You should apply for your student visa as soon as you meet the conditions but no earlier than six months before the start date of your course.
You must apply online.
Make sure that you apply in good time so that you can attend our Orientation & Welcome events. Check current visa application processing times in your home country.
If you wish to progress to a new course at ARU, for example a Masters following successful completion of your bachelors degree, your current previous student visa (or Tier 4 visa) will allow you to register on a new course before extending your visa.
You must extend your student visa for the new course within six weeks of the start date of the new course, or before the current visa expires, whichever is the earlier.
This provision is set annually at the discretion of the Home Office and may change in the future.
We have prepared the checklist below to help you make your visa application.
Some students applying in the UK will not need the financial evidence (see Student Route Guidance for full details) and some students will have to also provide additional documents:
Remember to retain copies of all the original documents that you submitted to:
The UKVI may ask for any of the above documents during the visa application process.
If you submit your visa application before 2 January 2025, the required maintenance funds for living expenses are as follows:
If you submit your visa application on 2 January 2025 onward, the updated UKVI living expenses are:
If you are booking university accommodation, the UKVI will consider a maximum of £1,334 towards your accommodation costs when calculating the required maintenance funds for visa applications submitted before 31 December 2024.
For applications submitted after on or after 2 January 2025, this amount will be £1,483. This is the case even if you have paid more towards your accommodation. You cannot deduct any advance payments you make to private accommodation providers. You must meet the maintenance requirements even if you are going to live for free with relatives.
If you were living and studying in the UK in the last 12 months, you automatically meet the financial requirements and do not need to have any funds in place for immigration purposes.
In all other cases you will need to provide financial evidence. Before you can apply for your student visa, you need to have access to sufficient money to cover any unpaid tuition fees and a fixed amount of money for living expenses (maintenance).
Please note: These amounts change frequently and are correct at time the time of publication. Please check the Student Route Guidance to confirm the living expenses required at the time you apply.
If your funds are not in pounds sterling, the minimum balance should be converted using the conversion rate at OANDA (unless you are using funds in Iranian Rials or a currency not listed on OANDA, where you should use the FCDO consular exchange rate). The rate applied is for the date you submit your visa application.
Please read the Student Route Guidance to find out about other types of financial evidence which are accepted.
Important: Financial documents expire in 31 days.
You must apply for the visa with the same financial documents you provided to ARU before obtaining your CAS.
The most recently dated piece of financial evidence must be dated within 31 days before the date of application.
You must make a visa application before the documents expire.
Some students do not need to submit evidence of their qualifications or to submit evidence that they satisfy the financial requirements with their applications. The Home Office calls this the 'differentiation arrangements' for 'low-risk applicants'.
You are a low-risk applicant if you apply for student immigration permission (inside or outside the UK), and you have a passport issued by one of the countries or territories listed in paragraph ST 22.1 of Appendix Student of the Immigration Rules.
It is very important that as a low-risk applicant you still obtain the evidence of your qualifications and your money, even though you do not need to send them. This is because the Home Office can request this evidence as part of its decision-making process and will refuse your application if you are unable to provide it by the given deadline.
If your tuition fees and living expenses are being covered by an official sponsor, you will need to provide your official sponsor/scholarship/financial guarantee letter.
Official sponsors include your home government, the British Council, His Majesty’s Government, or any international organisation, international company, or university.
Students applying in the UK and who were in receipt of official financial sponsorship in the past, will need a letter from the sponsor giving their permission for the visa extension. This is required even when no longer receiving sponsorship.
The Immigration Health Surcharge is a mandatory fee of £776 per year, charged to visa applicants who plan to stay in the UK for more than six months. Find out more by visiting our Immigration Health Surcharge page.
For bachelor degrees our requirement is IELTS 6.0 or equivalent, with no lower than 5.5 in any of the four elements (listening, speaking, reading and writing). For Masters degrees our requirement is IELTS 6.5 or equivalent, with no lower than 5.5 in any of the four elements.
You will need to include your certificate with your visa application.
If you are applying to study a pre-sessional English language course we must use a Secure English Language Test (SELT) to confirm your English language ability is CEFR B1 or above.
Students from countries listed on the Home Office website must include a TB certificate, from an approved test centre, with their visa application. This does not apply to visitors including student visitors who apply to come for six months or less. How to obtain a TB certificate in your country
Please be aware that you will need to book an appointment and at busy times you may have to wait ten days for an appointment especially during the UK student visa peak season between July-October. Therefore it is important that you plan for your visa application to make sure you have enough time to fulfil all of the requirements and still arrive for the start of your course.
In addition to meeting all the above requirements, the UKVI may also interview you. The purpose of the interview is for the entry clearance officers to assess whether a student is 'genuine' before granting their visa.
Separate guidance will be sent with your CAS.
In your home country:
You have to travel to the UK before the deadline of registration stated on the CAS. You must also travel to UK during the validity of your vignette as otherwise you would have to pay again to obtain a new one. You may also miss the final deadline of registration and not be accepted on the course. If you experience any delays, please email [email protected]
Think very carefully before choosing your course and University. If you apply for a course using a CAS provided by Anglia Ruskin University your visa will be issued to study at Anglia Ruskin University only.
In most cases it is not possible to change your course from within the UK.