Studying in the UK

TIER 4 (GENERAL) STUDENT VISA

Overview
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
meet the other eligibility requirements

Tier 4 (General) visas are only issued for certain courses; if your course is not an eligible course then your institution will not give you a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) and you will not be able to apply for a Tier 4 visa.

There are also limits as to how much time you can spend in the UK as a Tier 4 (General) student. If you exceed these limits your visa application will be refused.

Furthermore you will have to meet a number of requirements, and submit appropriate evidence of this, before you will be granted a Tier 4 visa.

Eligibility
To qualify under Tier 4 you must have:

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

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.

You will need enough money to pay for your course fees and your living costs while you are in the UK. The Home Office refers to this as the maintenance requirements.

Maintenance must be in the form of cash funds. You cannot use evidence of other types of finances, such as shares, bonds or a pension fund. You also cannot use an overdraft facility. The amount of money that you need to have for your maintenance will depend on:

how long your courses lasts AND
where you will be studying in the UK