Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)
| Before you apply to Keele |
Choose your course, ensure you have your finances arranged and prepare the documentation you will need for your application:
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| Making your application | Apply online via our course pages for postgraduate or undergraduate study. Upload your documentation to your application. |
| Admissions process | Once you have submitted your application it will be reviewed by the Admissions team. If you are eligible for an offer, you will receive an ‘offer letter’. The offer may be ‘conditional’ on providing further information or documentation - ensure you send this information to us as soon as possible. Once you have received your offer, please accept this as instructed if you wish to study at Keele. |
| Getting prepared | Attend a visa advice webinar to help you prepare for your visa application. |
| After you’ve accepted your offer | Once you have accepted your offer and it is unconditional:
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| After you receive your pre-CAS checklist | Check the details of your pre-CAS checklist are correct and return to visa@keele.ac.uk with your financial documents. |
| What is a CAS? | A CAS is a reference number to an electronic document held by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). A CAS is issued by Keele University for all new students and those students continuing at Keele who need to extend their visa. A CAS is an agreement from Keele University to sponsor your visa to be in the UK for the sole purpose of study. Keele will only issue a CAS to a student who needs to be sponsored under the student immigration rules and who Keele believes will be able to make a successful application for a student visa. |
| Who needs a CAS? | If you need a visa to study in the UK for a course of study that is over six months, or is less than six months but a requirement of the course is that you need to be able to work (work includes volunteering) you will need to apply for a student visa using a CAS. |
| Once you receive your CAS | You can then apply for your student visa. Specific guidance on how to apply for your visa will be attached to your CAS. |
Once your offer is unconditional and we have received your tuition fee deposit or evidence of your financial guarantee letter from an external sponsor, and documents, we will issue a pre-CAS checklist no more than four months prior to the start of your course. Once you receive the checklist you will need to complete and return it to the Immigration Compliance and Advice team (email: visa@keele.ac.uk) in order to request a CAS statement which will enable you to apply for your visa (if required). For January 2024 intake, we will only issue CAS statements up to Monday 18 December 2023, so you must ensure you return your checklist in plenty of time before this date. You cannot apply for a visa without a CAS.
A CAS number will not be issued any earlier than six months prior to the start of your course, assuming you meet the requirements for a CAS. You will be required to provide evidence of your qualifications, passport, previous UK visas, visa refusals and evidence of funding to meet the UKVI requirements as part of this process. In some cases, you may also be asked to provide evidence regarding your employment along with any gaps in study. You may also be invited for an interview.
If you do not require a visa to study in the UK, we will request a copy of evidence of this prior to your arrival at the University.
If you are not financially sponsored by a government, you will need to make sure that you have the UKVI’s minimum amount of money in your account for a twenty-eight day period before we can consider issuing a CAS.
An offer of admission does not automatically guarantee a CAS, which is required for a UK student visa. Requests are subject to the UKVI requirements and are granted at the discretion of the University.