Student route visa application guides

You can apply up to six months before your course starts, however are unable to issue a CAS more than 3 months before the course start date. 

You must submit your entry clearance/visa application to a Visa Application Centre (VAC) or British Diplomatic Post in your country of origin or lawful residence.  Below, please find the documentation you will need to provide for your visa application and the procedure involved.

1. Complete the online visa application form.
2. Take and obtain a Tuberculosis (TB) test certificate, if applicable. Find out if you are required to obtain a TB test for your visa application and for a list of UKVI approved test centres in your home country
3. Pay the required visa application fees.
4. Complete your Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) registration and pay the appropriate fee. The IHS is currently set at £470 per year for each year of your visa. If your visa includes part of a year that is six months or less you will be charged an additional £235 for this period.  If your visa includes part of a year that is more than six months, you will have to pay £470 for this period. Check how much you will be required to pay by visiting the UKVI site to see how much you are required to pay.
5. Once you have completed your application form you must submit the form online and pay the necessary fees and book your biometric enrolment appointment at a Visa Application Centre (VAC) close to where you live. You should have a choice of uploading copies of the supporting documents for your application yourself through the website of the relevant VAC (e.g. VFS global or TLS contact) or taking the original/copies of the documents with you to your appointment at the VAC where they will be scanned, please note that there is usually a fee for the scanning service. Please note that you must take your original passport(s) (current and previous) when you attend your visa appointment at the VAC, even if you uploaded scanned copies prior to your appointment.

Please refer to our Student route- Entry Clearance (Visa Application) Guide for further guidance and information on making an application. 

Please refer to the ‘document checklist’ which should be generated at the end of your online visa application for information about the ‘mandatory’ and ‘other’ supporting documents you will need to submit to UKVI as part of your visa application. Please ensure that you upload or take the relevant documents for scanning to the VAC to avoid your application being rejected as invalid. 

If possible, please submit the same bank statement(s)/financial document you provided to Ravensbourne for your CAS. If you submit a different document which has not been assessed by Ravensbourne and there is insufficient money in your/your parent’s bank account, your application could be refused. Please contact Ravensbourne if you need to submit a different financial document from the one assessed by us.   

If you are using your parent(s)’ bank statement you must also provide original evidence of your relationship (eg original birth certificate) and a letter from them confirming that they will finance your studies in the UK.

If you are being financially sponsored by a government or an international scholarship agency you must submit an official letter (original/copy) from them confirming the details of your sponsorship. Please refer to the UKVI Student route casework guidance and our financial requirements guide for more information.

If any of your documents are not in English, you must submit the original and a fully certified translation by a professional translator or translation company. This includes your financial documents.

Once your entry clearance (visa application) is approved you should receive your passport with a 90/30 days ‘short term’ visa/vignette from UKVI within a few days. Please provide us with a copy of the visa/vignette and the decision letter from UKVI by uploading them to your admissions portal or emailing them to your admissions officer.

Please ensure that you check the details of your visa to ensure that all the details are correct, if you notice any errors please inform us as soon as possible. 

If your visa application is rejected as invalid or refused. Please inform us within 48 hours. Please provide us with a copy of the email/letter.

Please refer to our Visa refusal guide for more information.

To ensure that you have everything you need to get through the UK border as efficiently as possible, please sure that you carry the following in your hand luggage for easy access:

• Your current passport with your 90 days visa vignette.
• The CAS letter you received from Ravensbourne with your CAS number and details about your course/programme of study.
• Your TB test certificate, if applicable, and any other medical documentation and medication.
• The financial document you submitted with your visa application, if applicable.
• Details of where you are staying in the UK as the Immigration Officer may ask to see this information. Due to COVID-19 you may also be required to complete the passenger locator form online 48 hours before you travel to the UK. Print evidence confirming that you have completed the form; and
• Sufficient cash (£) for at least a few days.

Please inform us once you have confirmed your date of travel to the UK.

If your 90-day visa vignette has expired

If you are unable to travel to the UK before the expiry of your 90 days visa vignette you will need to apply for a replacement by completing the online form and paying the relevant fee. You will also need to make an appointment to resubmit your biometric information. Currently, the fee is £154 and the application may take several weeks to be processed.

You may also need to obtain a new TB test, if you were required to do so,  if your 90-day visa vignette expired before you are able to travel to the UK.

Planning your travel

Visit the UKCISA and Study UK websites for some helpful tips on planning your travel to the UK and life in the UK in general. 

On arrival, you should present your 90 days visa vignette in your passport to the Immigration Officer, unless you are eligible to use the ePassport gates. The Immigration Officer should then stamp your passport with the date of entry.

If you are eligible to use the ePassport gates you are able to scan your passport and will not receive an entry stamp. You should keep evidence of your date of arrival in the UK (boarding pass, flight ticket) and provide this to Ravensbourne. Please inform us once you have confirmed your date of travel to the UK

• You should normally collect your BRP within 10 days of arrival in the UK failure to do so could result in a financial penalty or cancellation of your leave. However, if you are required to quarantine or become ill due to COVID-19 you must not leave your residence. You will not be penalised for being unable to collect your BRP while coronavirus measures are in place.
• Unless due to COVID-19 restrictions on travel/movement please aim to collect your BRP before your 90 days visa vignette expires. Please do not travel outside of the UK until you have collected your BRP unless you have an urgent reason for doing so.
• You must also take your passport containing your 90 days visa vignette and your decision letter when you attend the UKVCAS centre or Post Office to collect your BRP. Please provide us with a copy of your BRP to enable us to confirm that you have been granted the correct leave. You will be provided with information on how to upload your immigration documents with the enrolment instruction.

If you are unable to travel to the UK before the expiry of your 90 days visa vignette you will need to apply for a replacement by completing the online form and paying the relevant fee. You will also need to make an appointment to resubmit your biometric information. Currently, the fee is £154 and the application may take several weeks to be processed.

• Register with the UK Police, if required to do so. Students are normally required to register within 7 days of arrival in the UK. However, during COVID-19 restrictions UK Police registration activities may be suspended. Visit the OVRO website for more information. There are penalties for failing to register with the UK Police if required to do so.
• Attend in-person enrolment (if applicable), course induction and other orientation programmes.

We look forward to meeting you soon, all the best and safe journey!

In addition to the main eligibility requirement (see above), you may switch into the  Student route if:

• You have valid immigration permission and you are in the UK.
• You are not in the UK with any of the following immigration permissions: a visit visa, a short-term student visa, a Parent of a Child Student visa, a seasonal worker visa, a domestic worker in a private household visa, leave outside the immigration rules or in the UK on immigration bail.
• Your new course must start within 28 days of the expiry of your current immigration permission. If the gap between the expiry of your current visa/immigration permission and the start of the new course is more than 28 days you would normally be required to leave the UK and apply overseas unless you were able to rely on COVID-19 concessions (whilst they are in place). Check if you are eligible to apply under the UKVI COVID-19 concessions guidance.

In addition to the main eligibility requirement (see above), you may extend your current Tier 4/Student route immigration permission if:

• You are in the UK with valid leave.
• Your new course must start within 28 days of the expiry of your current Tier 4/Student route immigration permission. If the gap between the expiry of your current Tier 4/Student route visa/immigration permission and the start of your new course is more than 28 days you would normally be required to leave the UK and apply overseas unless you were able to rely on a COVID-19 concession (whilst they are in place). Check if you are eligible to apply under the UKVI COVID-19 concessions guidance
• You are progressing academically i.e. usually need to show your studies will be at a higher academic level than your current course unless exempt (due to resitting exams or retaking modules etc.). Read the guidance for more information on the academic progression requirements.  Ravensbourne will not issue a CAS in support of permission to stay application if the applicant will not be academically progressing unless they are exempt from this requirement.

Note: If in the 12 months before the date of your application, you completed a course of studies in the UK for which you were awarded a scholarship or sponsorship by a Government or international sponsorship agency covering both fees and living costs, you must provide written consent in relation to the application from that Government or agency.

• You can apply up to three months before your course starts.
• You must apply to extend your permission to stay in the UK before your current visa expires. If you wait until your visa has already expired then you will become an ‘over-stayer’, which in most cases is a criminal offence and you will be required to leave the UK to apply for entry clearance under the Student route.

You may be able to apply to extend your immigration permission even if your leave has expired under the COVID 19 concessions. Read the  COVID 19 guidance from UKVI to see whether they apply to your circumstances.

1. Check that you meet the requirements for extending or switching
2. Prepare the evidence you need
3. Complete and submit the application form and pay the relevant fees.
4. Attend an appointment to enrol your biometrics (if advised to do so).

Please refer to the UKVI Student route policy guidance and Ravensbourne’s Visas and Immigration page for more information.

If any of your documents are not in English, you must submit the original and a fully certified translation by a professional translator or translation company. This includes your financial documents.

Please refer to our Student route-extend or switch Application Guide for further guidance and information on making an application. 

Student route-permission to stay application-approval

Once your permission to stay application is approved you should be informed of the decision within the standard processing time for the method of submission used. Please provide us with a copy of your BRP and UKVI decision letter by uploading them to your student account or emailing them to your admissions officer to enable us to confirm that you have been granted the correct leave.

Permission to stay application- refusal

If your application to extend your leave or switch into the student route is rejected as invalid or refused you may be eligible for an administrative review. Alternatively, you could leave the UK and apply for new visa/entry clearance from overseas. Please inform us within 48 hours of being notified of the refusal. 

Please also provide us with a copy of the refusal letter from UKVI.

Please refer to our Visa refusal guide for more information

1. You are government-sponsored and your course is full-time and longer than six months or
2. You are doing a postgraduate level full-time course of 12 months or longer at a publicly-funded Higher Education Institution or a 'UK recognised body' or
3. Your current or most recent immigration permission was as a Student Route applicant, Tier 4 (General) student or a pre-Tier 4 student on a full-time course longer than six months and all four bullet points below apply:

• Your permission is current or expired no more than three months before this immigration application;
•  Your new immigration application is for a full-time course that is longer than six months;
• Your dependant already has Tier 4 dependant or 'student' dependant immigration permission (or it is the most recent immigration permission that they had, and it expired no more than three months before this application);
• You apply for immigration permission at the same time as your dependant.

You must already have your Student Route immigration permission, or you must be applying for it in the same country where your dependant is making their application, at the same time as them.

Financial requirements for family members 

As part of your application/your family member's application you/they must submit evidence to show that you/they have held the required maintenance funds, currently £845 (i.e. £7,605) for up to nine months for each dependant. The evidence (e.g. bank statement) must be dated no more than 31 days before your application(s) is/are submitted.

If you qualify for ‘differentiation arrangements’, whilst you are not required to submit evidence of the maintenance funds with your visa application(s) you must ensure that you have this evidence to hand in the event that you are requested to provide it by UKVI. Please note if your dependant(s) do not submit their visa application(s) at the same time as you, they will be required to submit evidence that you/they have held the required maintenance funds for 28 consecutive days in a bank account with their visa application(s).

The final date of this 28 day period must not be more than 31 days before their visa application is made and must continue to be available to you/them after the application is made. Please refer to UKVI’s Student and Child Student casework guidance and UKVI's website for more information.