You qualify for a UK Student visa if you’re 16 or over, hold a valid Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from a licensed sponsor, can prove you have enough money to cover fees and living costs, and meet the required English language level. Timing matters too: apply within 6 months of your CAS if you’re outside the UK, or within 3 months if you’re already here. The sections below cover documents, funds, and the application steps in full.
TL;DR:
- Applicants must apply within six months of their CAS if outside the UK, or within three months if already present in the UK, to avoid needing a new CAS.
- Financial evidence must show an account balance meeting the required threshold continuously for 28 days, with the last statement no older than 31 days at application time.
- Confirm your CAS is recent, your sponsor’s license is valid, and all dates on documents are accurate before submitting your application to minimize refusal risk.
- Only partners and children can apply as dependants, with additional funds required for each dependant, restricted mostly to postgraduate research or sponsored courses.
- Rigid adherence to application deadlines, document validity, and correct paperwork significantly increases the chance of approval and reduces the need for legal intervention.
Table of Contents
- Eligibility checklist: course, age, sponsor and CAS rules
- Documents you must provide with your Student visa application
- Financial requirements and how to prove funds
- How to apply: online steps, eVisa, biometrics and decision times
- Bringing family: who can come as a dependant
- Common refusal reasons and how to avoid them
- After you apply: eVisa, travel and what happens if you’re refused
- Solicitor perspective: when expert review actually reduces risk
- How MNS Solicitors can help you get it right first time
- Sources
- FAQ
Eligibility checklist: course, age, sponsor and CAS rules
Before you gather a single document, confirm the basics. UKVI will not consider your application unless every one of these boxes is ticked, and Appendix Student sets out the finer detail behind each one.
- You must be 16 or over on the date you apply.
- Your course must meet the minimum RQF or SCQF level set for the Student route, and you need an unconditional offer.
- Your sponsor must be licensed, and your CAS must have been issued no more than 6 months before you apply.
- Some postgraduate research subjects require an ATAS certificate before you can enrol.
- Caseworkers apply a genuine student test, checking that your study plans, financial circumstances and personal history line up.
Timing catches people out more than any other rule. Outside-UK applicants have a 6-month window from the CAS date; those extending or switching from within the UK get 3 months. Miss it, and you’ll need a fresh CAS before reapplying.
Documents you must provide with your Student visa application
Most applicants need the same core set of paperwork, though a few extras apply depending on age, nationality and subject.
- Current passport or travel document, valid for the length of your course.
- CAS reference number from your sponsor, no older than 6 months.
- Evidence of funds covering fees and living costs (see the financial section below).
- Proof of English language ability, unless your sponsor has already confirmed this on your CAS.
- TB test certificate, if you’re applying from a country listed under Appendix Tuberculosis.
- ATAS certificate, for relevant postgraduate research courses.
- Parental consent and birth certificate, for applicants under 18.
Dates matter as much as content. Bank statements need an end date within 31 days of your application, while your CAS itself must sit inside that 6 month window. If any document is not in English or Welsh, you’ll need a certified translation, ideally produced by a professional translator who can confirm accuracy and provide their credentials on the translated copy.
Financial requirements and how to prove funds
This is where most refusals happen, and the rules are unforgiving on detail even when the underlying finances are perfectly sound. You need enough to cover any outstanding course fees plus living costs, calculated month by month.
- a set monthly amount for living costs if you’re studying in London, capped at a maximum of 9 months.
- a lower monthly amount for living costs if you’re studying outside London, also capped at 9 months.
- Exemption: if you’ve lived in the UK with permission for 12 months or longer, you don’t need to show funds at all under the money guidance on GOV.UK.
- Acceptable evidence includes personal bank statements, an official loan letter, or a sponsorship letter that meets Appendix Finance requirements.
The 28-day rule, in numbers: Your account balance must sit at or above the required amount for 28 consecutive days, and the statement’s end date can’t be more than 31 days old when you apply. The financial evidence guidance is explicit that even a single day’s dip below the threshold, by as little as £1, can invalidate the whole 28-day period.
The most common errors are entirely avoidable: applicants submit statements with the wrong date range, use savings accounts that don’t show a running balance, or rely on funds they can’t actually access at the time of application (a fixed-term bond that matures after their travel date, for instance). If your sponsorship isn’t recorded on the CAS itself, you’ll need a compliant sponsor letter that stands up to the same scrutiny.
How to apply: online steps, eVisa, biometrics and decision times
The application runs almost entirely online through a UKVI account, which has replaced the old paper vignette system with a digital eVisa tied to your travel document.
- Create or sign into your UKVI account and link the exact passport you intend to travel on.
- Complete the online application, uploading your CAS, financial evidence and any conditional documents.
- Verify your identity, either through the UK Immigration: ID Check app on a compatible phone or by booking a biometric appointment at a visa application centre.
- Submit within your window: 6 months before your CAS start date if applying from outside the UK, or 3 months if applying for permission to stay.
- Wait for a decision, typically around 3 weeks for entry clearance from outside the UK, and up to 8 weeks for some in-UK applications.
The single most common technical mistake is linking the wrong passport to a UKVI account, which can delay or derail an otherwise strong application.
Pro Tip: Before you submit anything, check your sponsor’s licence status on the register of licensed sponsors. A CAS from a sponsor whose licence has lapsed or been suspended is worthless, no matter how strong the rest of your application is.
Bringing family: who can come as a dependant
Only your partner and children qualify as dependants under the Student route. Parents, siblings, and other relatives are not eligible, whatever the family circumstances, according to UKCISA’s guidance on dependants.
- a set monthly amount per dependant if you’re studying in London, up to 9 months.
- a lower monthly amount per dependant if you’re studying outside London, up to 9 months.
- These sums are additional to your own financial requirement, not a shared pot.
- Dependants are generally only permitted where you’re on a postgraduate research course or a government-sponsored study programme.
- You’ll need to provide proof of the relationship, such as a marriage certificate or children’s birth certificates.
Common refusal reasons and how to avoid them
Refusals rarely come from one dramatic error. They usually come from small, fixable oversights that nobody double-checked before submission.
- Financial evidence that fails the 28-day holding period or has an end date older than 31 days.
- A CAS that has expired, been withdrawn, or was issued by a sponsor without a valid licence.
- Missing ATAS or TB certificates where the course or nationality requires them.
- Weak evidence of genuine student intent, particularly where study plans and financial background don’t align.
Run through a short checklist before you submit: confirm the CAS is current, check the sponsor’s licence, recheck every date on your financial documents, and make sure certified translations accompany any non-English paperwork.
Pro Tip: If you’ve been refused before, have a complex sponsorship arrangement, or you’re applying with dependants, get a solicitor to review your file before you submit. A second pair of trained eyes catches the errors you’re too close to see.
After you apply: eVisa, travel and what happens if you’re refused
Once submitted, you can track your application status through your UKVI account, with decisions typically arriving within the timeframes above. Approval means your eVisa links automatically to the passport you registered, so double-check that link before you book travel, since a mismatched document can cause problems at the border.
- Check your decision status directly through your UKVI account rather than waiting for an email alone.
- Confirm your eVisa shows the correct passport and conditions before travelling.
- If refused, you may have the option of an administrative review, a fresh application, or instructing an immigration solicitor, depending on the refusal grounds.
- Contact a solicitor promptly if the refusal cites financial evidence, genuine student concerns, or any issue you don’t fully understand.
Solicitor perspective: when expert review actually reduces risk
The rules above look straightforward on paper, but caseworkers apply them strictly, and small formatting errors sink otherwise genuine applications. Legal review earns its cost when there’s a previous refusal, marginal financial evidence, dependants involved, or ATAS and health documentation in the mix. A solicitor checks CAS validity, tests your documents against Appendix Student before submission, and keeps you appeal-ready if things go wrong.
— michelle
How MNS Solicitors can help you get it right first time
This firm offers legal assistance for Student visa applications, with each case handled by a qualified solicitor from the outset, and fees are fixed and agreed before any work begins. That matters when a single dating error on a bank statement can cost you months.
If your CAS deadline is close, your financial evidence is borderline, or you’ve been refused before, get your file checked properly rather than hoping it’s fine. Mnssolicitors offers a dedicated Student visa service with a fast-track option for applications prepared in as little as 24 hours, backed by over 170 five-star Google reviews from clients who needed exactly this kind of urgent, precise help. If your deadline is genuinely tight, the urgent visa service is built for that pressure. Book a consultation and get your documents reviewed before you submit, not after a refusal letter arrives.
Sources
FAQ
What are the requirements to get a student visa in the UK?
You need to be 16 or over, hold a valid CAS from a licensed sponsor, prove you have sufficient funds for fees and living costs, and meet the English language requirement for your course.
How much bank balance is required for a UK student visa?
You need £1,529 per month if studying in London or £1,171 per month outside London, held for 28 consecutive days, unless you’re exempt through 12 months’ lawful UK residence.
How much does a UK student visa cost, and how long does it last?
The visa fee itself sits alongside a mandatory healthcare surcharge, and neither is covered in this guide’s financial figures above; check current fees directly on the GOV.UK application page before applying. Visa length is tied to your course duration plus a short grace period either side, rather than a fixed universal term.
How many years does the UK give for a student visa?
Your visa is granted for the length of your course, typically with a short additional period before and after your studies rather than a fixed number of years for everyone.
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