• Completed Student online visa application form (see “How to make a Student application outside the UK” below). 

• Current passport or travel document.

• If you are not a national of the country in which you are applying, you will need to submit evidence that you are there lawfully and, on a basis, other than a short-term visit. 

• Assigned Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number from the University of Reading, which was issued no more than 6 months before you pay to submit your visa application online.

UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) does not require the CAS in pdf format/email, because it is not a requirement of the Student route visa to submit it with your visa application.

A CAS is an electronic document that is created and held on a UKVI online database. Whilst processing your visa application, the caseworker will look at your live CAS on this database and not the CAS email.

The CAS statement/email we send to students is not required for your Student application, but it gives you all of the information about your course and Student sponsor, and some of the information about money, that you need to complete your Student application form.

You are only required to input the CAS number into the online visa application.

• Evidence you meet the Student visa maintenance Requirements. 

• Any qualifications listed on your CAS in the 'Evidence used to obtain offer' field. Please note if you are studying a course at degree level or above you will not be required to provide evidence of your qualifications.

If you do need to provide evidence this can be in the form of a transcript, certificate or print outs of your qualification or transcript results from the awarding body’s online checking service. Each document provided must include:

o your name 

o the title of the award

o the name of the awarding institution or awarding body

o the date of the award (if the qualification has already been awarded)

o confirmation that the qualification will be awarded (if the document is a transcript of results or print out of a transcript of results).

• Evidence of English language proficiency as stated on your CAS.

• Tuberculosis (TB) certificate, if coming to the UK for longer than 6 months and you are resident in any of the countries listed on the UK Government website. If you have lived for at least 6 months in a country (including in the UK) where TB screening is not required by the UK, and you have been away from that country for no more than 6 months you will not need a TB test

• Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate, if you are applying for postgraduate study or research in one of the subjects listed in Immigration Rules Appendix ATAS and you are not one of the nationals who are exempt from the ATAS requirement.

• For 16- and 17-year-olds only: a signed letter of parental consent confirming:

o the relationship between you and your parent(s)/legal guardian(s)

o that they consent to your living arrangements in the UK

o that they consent to your application as a Student

o The signature of both parents/legal guardians, except if one parent or legal guardian has legal custody/whole responsibility. This must be confirmed in the letter.

• Evidence of your relationship with your parent(s)/legal guardian(s) if you are under the age of 18 and/or submitting evidence of funds in your parent(s)/legal guardian(s) name(s) e.g., birth certificate.

It costs £490 or equivalent in your local currency to apply for this visa from outside of the UK. There may be an additional fee (£76.50) if you attend a ‘user pay Visa Application Centre (VAC)’.

You may be able to pay for optional additional services, such as, priority, document scanning assistance and delivery services. Please check with the VAC that you are going to attend if you want information on these services and the cost if applicable.

The standard visa processing times for applications made outside of the UK is 15 working days (from when you provide your biometrics). You should also allow a week for your passport to be endorsed with an entry vignette (visa sticker) if applicable.

Applications for visas that are more than six months long include an immigration health surcharge. You and any dependants will each be required to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) to cover the duration of your stay in the UK. You will then be able to use the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK and will not require private medical insurance. Please note that you will still need to pay for certain types of services (e.g. prescriptions, dental treatment and eye tests). That is a requirement for everybody, including British nationals.

The cost of this charge will be £776 for each applicant and dependent per year of the actual visa to be granted, including any final extra period. Periods less than six months are charged at £388. Periods between 6 and 12 months are charged at the full year rate.

The form is only available online and can be completed by following the steps listed below:

• Go to the online Student visa application form. When asked ‘Confirm your visa type’ make sure you select ‘Student’.
• Create a UKVI account and prove your identity using the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app if prompted.
• Follow the instructions on the application form and answer all questions carefully and honestly. We suggest you use our Alternative Collection Location code given on your CAS (if applicable) so your Biometric Residence Permit is delivered directly to the University.

• If you would like an Immigration Adviser to check your visa application, do not make any payments or submit the application. Please download your part-completed application as a pdf and email the form and your documents to immigration@reading.ac.uk.

• You will receive an email with a link, which allows you to return to the form using the password you set up. Keep this email safe.

• After your application has been checked or you are certain you have correctly answered all the questions, you will need to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge and the visa application fee.

As part of your application, you will need to prove your identity.

You will need to prove your identity, by either:

• providing your fingerprints and a photograph (biometric information) at a Visa Application Centre (VAC).

If you do not wish to self-upload your documents, you will be required to pay for the relevant additional service. Check with the VAC you are going to attend.

• using the UK Immigration: ID Check app to scan your identity document, take a photo of yourself, and upload any relevant documents (this applies to most EEA nationals who have a passport containing a biometric chip).

You will be told what you need to do when you apply.

You may be interviewed by the Home Office to check that you are a ‘genuine student’ (see credibility interviews page).

You should check your email including the 'junk' folder regularly whilst your application is pending. Failure to attend the interview will likely lead to your application being refused.

The next correspondence you receive should be your visa application decision.

If your visa application is refused, make sure you contact the International Student Advisory Team and supply a copy of the visa refusal notice.

Entry Vignette

If your application is successful, and you attended a Visa Application Centre to provide your biometrics, you will receive a 90-day vignette (sticker) in your passport. You use this to travel to the UK during its validity. Do not travel to the UK before the start date on the vignette.

EU, EEA, and Swiss nationals who used the UK Immigration: ID Check app when applying will receive entry permission in the form of an eVisa.

If your visa is issued for six months or less, your vignette will be valid for your whole stay in the UK. If you are coming to the UK for longer than 6 months you will need create a UKVI account and register for an eVisa.

Digital status

Your full immigration status will be provided in the form of a digital 'eVisa', which allows you to demonstrate your immigration status through a 'sharecode'. To access your eVisa, you will be invited to create a UKVI account. Once created, Please carefully review your details and check the information and dates reflected in your new eVisa are correct, to ensure you do not encounter any issues entering the UK or enrolling on your programme.

Once you have created a UKVI account and checked the information in your eVisa, you will be able to generate a sharecode through the gov.uk website to demonstrate your Immigration status.

Further information regarding eVisas.

You must only travel to the UK on or after the start date of your Student permission. You cannot travel to the UK before the start of your Student permission. If you do, you will not be permitted to enrol and you will be required to leave the UK.

It is important that you fully understand the conditions your Student immigration permission is subject to, because the Home Office takes breaches of conditions seriously. Breaches can have serious consequences to your current permission and any future immigration applications that you make. 

Work conditions:

Students studying full-time at degree level (RQF level 6) or above will be permitted to work 20 hours per week term-time and full-time in the vacation periods/before and after the course dates. 

Students studying full-time below degree will be permitted to work 10 hours per week term-time and full-time in the vacation periods/before and after the course dates. 

Students on a part-time student visa to study part-time do not have work rights of any kind, and therefore, must not undertake any work.

Students who are allowed to work must not:

• be self-employed or engage in business activity, except where they are awaiting a decision on an application for permission to stay as a Start-up migrant which is supported by an endorsement from a qualifying HEP with a track record of compliance

• take employment as an entertainer or as a professional sportsperson, including a sports coach

• fill a full-time permanent vacancy other than a recognised foundation programme and all other requirements are met or where they are filling a post as a Student Union Sabbatical Officer
For further information visit our working right and limits during studies webpage.

‘No recourse to public funds’:

You will be prohibited from accessing/claiming specific welfare benefits known as ‘public funds’. 

For further information visit the gov.uk website. 

Study:

You must intend to study the course at the institution for which your CAS was assigned. If you do not enrol, decide not to continue with your course, or wish to change course please contact the International Student Advisory Team to discuss the implications this may have in regard to your visa.

Supplementary study is permitted, providing it does not hinder your progress on your main course of study. Qualifications obtained because of supplementary study cannot be used to meet the academic progression requirement and you cannot get a visa extension to complete supplementary study.

Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS):

If you were required to obtain an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) clearance certificate to support your Student application you must apply for a new ATAS certificate within 28 days, if one of the following happens:

• Your course content or research proposal changes; and/or

• Your course completion date (as stated on your CAS) is postponed by more than three calendar months.

For further information see Immigration Rules Appendix ATAS.

If clarification is needed on any aspect of the Rules or you have questions about your application, please email the International Student Advisory Team at immigration@reading.ac.uk where we will respond to you as soon as possible, alternatively telephone +44(0)118 378 8038.