Visas and Immigration

Visit the Student Visa section of the UK Government website and read the information carefully as it contains lots of very detailed information about how to apply and what documents you need to provide.

You will need to be able to meet the Student Visa financial requirement (if applicable) before you submit your visa application, so it is essential that you prepare your finances in good time.

You can find information about the Student Visa financial requirement and the application process on the UKCISA website.

If you have not saved enough money for the required amount of time, or if any of your documents do not meet Home Office requirements, your visa application will be refused.

When you receive your initial visa (a short-term vignette in your passport), it is essential that you check it carefully to ensure that:

• Your name and date of birth are correct
• The 'Type of Permit' states Student
• It starts on, or before, the date you want to travel to the UK

You will also receive a letter or email informing you that your Student visa application has been successful and this will outline the conditions of your immigration leave. It will confirm where and when your BRP will be available to collect.

If any of the above details are incorrect, you should contact the visa application centre that handled your application and request an amendment prior to travelling to the UK.

If you receive a notification that your visa application has been refused, please complete our enquiry form as soon as possible, making sure to include your refusal notice. We can then offer advice about next steps.

Enquiry Form

You must enter the UK during the 30-day validity of the entry clearance and you must then collect your BRP within 10 days of entering the UK.

You will normally be advised to collect your BRP, which contains your full period of leave and our sponsor licence number printed on it, from the Post Office at 119 Vyse St, Birmingham, B18 6JS, which is about a 10-minute walk from our main Summer Row Campus.

You will just need to bring your passport with your entry permit enclosed and the decision letter you received with the outcome of your visa application. You should not need an appointment to do this.

We can help you extend your visa if you are required to repeat modules or your dissertation, and you are required to be in attendance on campus. It may also be possible to extend your visa to resit an exam. If this applies to you, please contact visa-advice@ucb.ac.uk as soon as possible for immigration advice.

No. We can only sponsor students that have a valid visa. If you are a continuing student and are not able to extend your visa in time, you will need to defer your studies and re-enrol at the beginning of the next semester.

You will need to complete an online application form. You will need to do this through an International Student Adviser within our International Admissions and Recruitment team, located on the 2nd floor The Link, Summer Row.

At the time of writing, the Home Office charges £475 for the standard service, other quicker service options may be available at higher prices. More information can be found here or by speaking to an international student adviser. You can contact our International Student Adviser on visa-advice@ucb.ac.uk (Tel: 0121 232 2662).

You should allow enough time (six to eight weeks) to prepare your application before your visa expiry date. If you allow your visa to expire, this could have serious implications on whether we can continue to sponsor you on a Student Visa and future immigration applications with the Home Office. More information on protecting your Student Visa status can be found here.

This may be possible, but attempting to return to the UK without having extended your visa is at your own risk. You should ensure that you print a hard copy of your CAS letter so that you can show this to the border officer when you arrive back in the UK. If you travel without your visa and CAS, you risk being denied entry to the UK.

Yes. As long as your dependant makes an application to study and this application meets the entry requirements, we will be pleased to accept them as a student.

This means your application will be assessed against specific criteria set up by the UK Government. You can check you have sufficient points to be granted entry to the UK before you make your application at the government’s website.

In a nutshell, to gain a Student Visa, you will have to score points against two sets of objective criteria with an overall pass mark of 40 points:

• 30 points are awarded for the CAS
• 10 points are awarded for the maintenance and funds test. This means you must be able to demonstrate you have, and have had for a minimum of 28 days, £10,300 plus any outstanding tuition fees for undergraduate or postgraduate courses. Please note that, before issuing you with a CAS, the International centre may request to see acceptable evidence that you hold these funds in the right format.

We suggest you check our web pages regularly to keep up to date with changes to the UK’s student immigration system. If you have applied through the British Council or one of our local agents, you will also be able to ask them for advice.

You will be asked to provide information such as your UK address, and to upload scans of your documents, including your passport, entry clearance visa and your BRP once you arrive in the UK.

We will contact you about completing the enrolment process before you are due to start your course.

UKCISA (Council for International/Student Affairs) is an independent, non-profit organisation committed to promoting educational mobility and providing support to international students and the professionals who work with them. UKCISA provides expert information and guidance on key topics and answers many queries from prospective students from all over the world. We highly recommend that you look at UKCISA’s website www.ukcisa.org.uk. 

You can also visit the UK Government’s website, which offers all the information you need to complete your visa application.