You can apply for a Tier 4 (General) student visa to study in the UK if you’re 16 or over and you:

• have been offered a place on a course
• can speak, read, write and understand English
• have enough money to support yourself and pay for your course - the amount will vary depending on your circumstances
• are from a country that’s not in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland

When to apply
The earliest you can apply for a visa is 3 months before you start your course.
You’ll usually get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks. You can check visa processing times for your country.

You can:
• study
• work as a student union sabbatical officer
• apply from inside or outside the UK
• apply to extend your stay
• work in most jobs - depending on what level your course is and what kind of sponsor you have

You can’t:
• get public funds
• work in certain jobs, for example professional sportsperson or sports coach
• study at an academy or a local authority-funded school (also known as a maintained school)

Eligibility

You must have:

• an unconditional offer of a place on a course with a licensed Tier 4 sponsoring institution
• enough money to support yourself and pay for your course - the amount will vary depending on your circumstances

Your course

You can do a course that’s one of the following:
• full-time leading to a qualification that’s at least level 6 on the Ofqual register
• an overseas course of degree level study that’s equal to a UK higher education course and is being run by an overseas higher education institution
• full-time, with at least 15 hours per week of organised daytime study, leading to a qualification which is at least level 3 on the Ofqual register
• a recognised foundation programme as a postgraduate doctor or dentist

Postgraduate doctors and dentists

You can apply for this visa if you’re sponsored to do a recognised foundation programme and you’ve:
• finished a recognised UK degree in medicine or dentistry
• received that degree from a registered Tier 4 sponsor
• spent your final year and at least 1 other year of studies leading to that degree in the UK

PConfirmation of acceptance for studies

Your education provider will send you a reference number called a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) once they’ve offered you a place on a course.
You’ll need to enter this on your visa application.
You must apply for your visa no more than 6 months after you receive the CAS.

Further study in the UK

You can only get a CAS for a new course if you’ve studied in the UK before and you’re:
• re-sitting exams or repeating modules
• applying for the first time to a new institution to complete a course you started at an institution that’s lost its Tier 4 sponsorship
• applying to complete a PhD or other doctorate that you started studying under your last Tier 4 (General) student visa
• studying for a new qualification at a higher academic level
• studying for a new qualification at the same level and related to your previous course or career aspirations - it must be degree level or above at a Higher Education Institution (HEI)
• applying after working as a student union sabbatical officer to complete a qualification you started studying under your last Tier 4 (General) student visa

Our team can conduct the eligibility assessment on your case and offer the best advice to prepare and submit the visa application with end to end support. We can offer our professional and dedicated services to ensure the success of your visa application.