Applying outside the UK

The UK Home Office have produced comprehensive online guidance on how to apply for your student visa.  The guidance is regularly updated and gives full details of the requirements, included the documentation needed to support your application.  It is your responsibility to check that your application is in accordance with the official requirements. 

More guidance is available from the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) on student immigration and applying for a student visa.

To successfully apply for a student visa, you must score 70 out of 70 points.

This is calculated as follows:

If you have maintained residence in the UK, then there are no medical checks or tests required when applying for a visa from within the UK.

The information and guidance on funding that follows is based upon the UK Immigration Rules and student visa requirements.  All funds being used for a student visa application must meet the requirements of Immigration Rules Appendix Finance.

As stated previously, if you have been in the UK with a valid visa for 12 months or more prior to making your visa application, you are considered to have automatically met the maintenance requirement and will not have to provide documentation to evidence this.  Students who are officially sponsored will be required to show evidence of this sponsorship and that they have permission from the sponsor to continue.

Sponsored students

If you are a student that is sponsored for living expenses and/or tuition fees by an official financial sponsor, you will NOT need to show the sponsorship amount in your bank account.  An official financial sponsor is Her Majesty's Government, the student's home government, the British Council, an international organisation, international company (the UK Home Office requires an international company to be a company with a trading presence/registered office in more than one country), a university or UK independent school.  For a visa application, an official financial sponsor is not a spouse, friend, family member nor an NHS hospital, foundation trust or organisation.  Instead, you will need to obtain a letter from your financial sponsor confirming how they are supporting you.  This letter must be recently dated (a copy of which must be sent to Admissions prior to your Visa & Confirmation Checklist), on official letter-headed paper and must contain:

• Your name
• The name of your official financial sponsor
• The contact details of your official financial sponsor
• The length of financial sponsorship
• A statement confirming that your financial sponsor will cover all fees and living costs (if applicable)
• A statement confirming that the sponsorship is for Keele University and for your course of study

If your sponsorship is for tuition fees only and does not include living expenses, you will need to provide a bank statement, as per the requirements at the top of this section.  This is because you will have to demonstrate that you have the funds available to meet your living costs.

If you are studying at postgraduate degree level or specific integrated undergraduate courses in certain subject areas, you may require an ATAS clearance certificate.  At Keele University, this will mainly apply if you are undertaking a research degree.  If you require an ATAS certificate, your research institute should inform you of this during the admissions process.  Once the certificate is issued by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), the only time a student should need to submit a new ATAS application will be; to support a new visa application; or a student changes their studies or research during the study period; or extends their studies by a period of more than three months; or changes their UK Visa (Immigration status).

ATAS is a requirement for any student who is not a UK National, a national from the list of exempt countries or does not have Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK, regardless of tuition fee status.

ATAS is based on the Common Aggregation Hierarchy Code (CAH3).  You will need the full CAH3 code to apply for your ATAS certificate.  At the University, the CAH3 code you will be assigned will relate to the specific research area you propose to undertake rather than just your course title.  

An ATAS clearance certificate must be provided to the University before you will receive a Visa & Confirmation Checklist (Pre CAS - Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies), along with payment of your tuition fee deposit / provision of financial documentation and any other outstanding conditions of your offer.  This is also applicable for visiting research students who require ATAS, as no supporting documents will be issued until an ATAS certificate is provided.  You will not be enrolled onto your course of study until an ATAS is provided.

The ATAS certificate has two timeframes:

1. The 'active' six month timeframe, which exists solely to serve as a deadline for students to complete their visa applications.  Once this process is finalised, the active element of the certificate falls away. 
2. The 'inherent' timeframe, which covers the student's studies for the duration of time given in the online application form.  The course start and end date, which are provided by the University on admission, are entered into the application form by the student at the time of applying.  The ATAS certificate is subsequently valid for the duration of time provided on the CAS.

UKVI recommend that you apply for a new ATAS certificate at least 4 months in advance of any visa application.  Once granted, an ATAS certificate is valid for six months from the date of issue and must be valid at the point of submission of a visa application.

For more information about ATAS and how to apply, please visit the Foreign & Commonwealth Office website.  Your supervisor and research institute can assist you in applying for a new ATAS certificate.  As soon as a new ATAS certificate is received, please send a copy to visa@keele.ac.uk 

When making a visa application from within the UK, the online application process includes a section to 'Confirm your identity'.  It is in this section that you will usually be invited to use the IDV App to submit your biometric information and also images of your passport and current BRP.  Later in the application, after paying the Immigration Health Surcharge and visa application fee, you will be invited to upload the documentation for your supporting evidence (e.g required qualifications or letters of sponsorship etc).

If you are not invited to use the IDV App or cannot use it for any reason, you will be asked to make an appointment at a UK Visa and Citizenship Application Services (UKVCAS) centre.  This is a separate website and you will need to register before selecting a location and viewing appointment availability.  These centres consist of core service points (standard fee included in your visa application fee) or enhanced service points (additional fee and more availability). The nearest core service point to the University is at Manchester Central Library, St. Peters Square, Manchester City Centre, M2 5PD.  Ensure that you attend an appointment to submit your biometrics by the deadline specified by the UK Home Office.

How will I get my new BRP?

If you would like your BRP to be delivered to the Immigration Compliance and Advice Team for collection in a pre-arranged appointment, please enter the following address as the correspondence address in the application:

C/O Immigration Compliance and Advice
Tawney Building
Keele University
Keele
Staffordshire
ST5 5BG

Be sure to let the UK Home Office know that this is not your residential address and provide them with your actual residential address too.  The benefit of this is that we are always available to accept delivery of the BRP, we can scan and upload the BRP to your student record and also check for any errors on the BRP and commence any correction process required.

To collect your (and your dependent's) BRP, you will need to bring your original passport and also your visa application decision letter from the UK Home Office.  To collect the BRPs of any dependents, the student must bring the decision letter and their passport along with the decision letter and passports for all dependents.  Without both the decision letter and the passport, you will not be issued with your BRP nor that of any dependents.

Alternatively, if you enter your residential address as your correspondence address, your BRP Card will be sent to your accommodation by courier.  You will need to sign for delivery and arrange re-delivery if you are not in your accommodation when delivery is attempted.  If you live on campus, your BRP will be received by the University Post Room and you will be invited to attend the Post Room to collect it once it arrives.

Once you have submitted your visa application, you must email a pdf of the submitted application including your responses, to visa@keele.ac.uk 

All of the documents you submit to support your visa application must be original.  If any documentation is not in English, a certified translation must be provided with the original.  You may be required to submit the following documents:

• a current passport or other valid travel documentation
• proof that you have sufficient funds to support yourself and pay for your course or/and a letter confirming any official financial sponsorship
• a valid ATAS certificate if your course and nationality require it
• qualification certificates or transcripts

You may need to provide additional documents depending on your circumstances.  Further guidance can be found in the UK Home Office guidance here.

If you have been in the UK with a valid visa for 12 months or more prior to making your visa application, you are considered to have automatically met the maintenance requirement and will not have to provide documentation to evidence this.  

Low risk applicants

Some students are not required to submit evidence of qualifications or finances when making a visa application. The UK Home Office calls this 'differentiation arrangements' for 'low-risk applicants'.

Low-risk applicants can be identified as being nationals of the countries or territories listed in paragraph ST 22.1 of Appendix Student of the Immigration Rules.

We strongly encourage you to prepare evidence of your qualifications and your finances, even though you are not required to submit them. This is because the Home Office can request this evidence at any time while considering your application and will refuse your application if you cannot provide them by the given deadline when they are requested.

The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) is a fee that has been introduced by the UK Government requiring all those that are applying for a visa to be in the UK to pay an upfront fee to have access to health services in the UK.  The IHS must be paid at the time of visa application and the mandatory health surcharge is calculated for a student (and each dependent) as £470 per year for the length of time on the student's visa.  For example, a 1-year postgraduate taught student would need to pay £470 and a postgraduate research student on a 4-year programme would need to pay £1,880 when making a visa application.  This amount is in addition to the visa application fee.  If you are required to demonstrate evidence of funds in your visa application, The Immigration Health Surcharge must not be deducted from the funds you have available as evidence of the ability to pay your tuition fees and living (maintenance) costs.

You may be asked to attend a credibility interview as part of the visa application process.  You will be contacted by the UK Home Office and informed of this and whether the interview will be online or in person.  Again, be sure to check your emails regularly as your application is likely to be refused if you are asked to attend an interview and then fail to do so.

For more information on credibility interviews and how to prepare for one if invited to to attend, please see go to Applying Outside the UK.

Once you have a decision on your visa application, you must send a scanned copy of the decision letter by email to cas@keele.ac.uk.  The University will send you an automated email based upon the UK Home Office's database when we notice a change in the status of your CAS/visa application.

Refusals

If you satisfy the points required for an application and submit the required evidence, you should expect that your student visa will be granted.  However, if you have not provided the University with accurate information and details of previous study in the UK, your visa may be refused.  It is therefore very important to make sure that you get your application right first time.

If you do not submit all the original documents that are required, the UK Home Office will not contact you to ask for missing documents.  An incomplete or incorrect application will be refused.  If your application is refused, you must send a copy of your refusal letter to cas@keele.ac.uk

There is no right of appeal against a student visa refusal.  If your visa application is refused and you wish to rebut the UK Home Office's decision, the only option is to submit an Administrative Review.  When you send your refusal notice to us, we will assess the refusal and advise accordingly.