UK Student Visa: Rules, Fees and Extending Your Stay

The UK Student visa is the route for people aged 16 or over who have an unconditional offer from a licensed student sponsor, can prove knowledge of English, and have enough money to support themselves and pay for their course. The application fee is £558 whether you apply from outside the UK, extend from inside, or switch from another visa. You must also pay the healthcare surcharge, and the amount depends on the length of your visa. This visa replaced the Tier 4 (General) student visa, and successful applicants receive an eVisa rather than a physical document.

Who can apply

You can apply for a Student visa if you are 16 or over and you have been offered a place on a course by a licensed student sponsor. You also need enough money to support yourself and pay for your course — the amount varies depending on your circumstances — and you must be able to speak, read, write and understand English. If you are 16 or 17, you need consent from your parents, and you will need evidence of that consent when you apply.

If you are 16 or 17 and want to study at an independent school in the UK, you may be eligible for a Child Student visa instead. The Student visa route is for further or higher education courses.

When to apply

The earliest you can apply depends on where you are applying from. If you are applying from outside the UK, the earliest you can apply is 6 months before your course starts. If you are applying from inside the UK, the earliest you can apply is 3 months before your course starts.

If you are applying from inside the UK, you must apply before your current visa expires. Your new course must begin within 28 days of your current visa expiring. For example, if your visa expires on 1 December, you must apply for a new visa before 1 December, and your new course must begin by 29 December.

How long the decision takes

You will usually get a decision within 3 weeks if you are outside the UK, and within 8 weeks if you are inside the UK. You may be able to pay to get a faster decision — you will be told if you can when you apply.

If your application is complex, it can take longer. The Home Office may contact you if your supporting documents need to be verified, if you need to attend an interview, or because of your personal circumstances, for example if you have a criminal conviction.

How long you can stay

How long you can stay depends on the length of your course and what study you have already completed in the UK. If you are 18 or over and your course is at degree level, you can usually stay for up to 5 years. If it is below degree level, you can usually stay for up to 2 years. The official guidance sets out exactly how long you can stay in your specific circumstances.

You may be able to extend your visa if you are eligible, for example to continue your studies in the UK. You may also be able to switch to a Student visa from another visa if you are already in the UK, or switch to a Graduate visa after completing your course.

Fees and the healthcare surcharge

The visa fee is £558 to apply from outside the UK, and £558 to extend or switch to a Student visa from inside the UK. You must pay the visa fee for each person who joins you. You will also have to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of your application; how much you pay depends on how long your visa lasts.

There is no fee for having your fingerprints and photo (biometric information) taken when you extend your visa. If you ask to withdraw your application, your fee will only be refunded if UKVI has not started processing it.

What you can and cannot do

On a Student visa you can study, and you can work as a student union sabbatical officer. You may be able to work — how much depends on what you are studying and whether you are working in or out of term-time.

You cannot claim public funds (benefits) and pensions. You cannot work in certain jobs, for example as a professional sportsperson or sports coach. You cannot be self-employed. You cannot study at an academy or a local authority-funded school, also known as a maintained school. If your application is successful, you will be told what you can and cannot do on your visa.

Travelling to the UK

You can arrive before your course starts, but the timing depends on the length of your course. You can arrive up to 1 week before if your course lasts 6 months or less, and up to 1 month before if your course lasts more than 6 months. You must not travel to the UK before the start date given on your visa, no matter when your course starts.

If you are extending your visa from inside the UK, you must not travel outside of the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man until you get a decision. Your application will be withdrawn if you do.

Extending your Student visa

You may be able to extend your Student visa to stay longer and continue your course or study a new course. This includes if you currently have a Tier 4 (General) student visa. To extend, you must be in the UK on a Student visa or a Tier 4 (General) student visa, have an unconditional offer of a place on a course with a licensed student sponsor (shown by your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, or CAS), and show that your studies are at a higher academic level than your current course — this is called the academic progress requirement, and there are some exceptions.

If you have been in the UK with a valid visa for less than 12 months, you will need to prove you have enough money to support yourself in the UK. Your partner or children will need to apply separately to extend their visa; they can either apply at the same time as you, or at any time before their current visa expires.

The academic progress requirement

If you are currently studying in the UK, you will usually need to show your studies will be at a higher academic level than your current course. Your new course must be one of the following: at a higher academic level than your current course; at the same level and related to your previous course or career aspirations (it must be degree level or above at a Higher Education Provider); or intercalated to a medicine, dentistry or medical science course you started studying under your Student visa.

You do not need to show your studies are at a higher level if you are doing one of the following: resitting exams or repeating modules; applying for the first time to a new institution to complete a course you started at an institution that lost its student sponsorship licence; applying after working as a student union sabbatical officer to complete a qualification you started studying under your last Student visa; completing a PhD or other doctorate that you started studying under your last Student visa; continuing your medical, dentistry or medical science degree after completing an intercalated course; or applying to extend your stay to complete your studies because you have done (or want to do) a work placement or study abroad programme.

Switching to a Graduate visa

After successfully completing your course, you may be able to switch to a Graduate visa. This will allow you to stay in the UK for 2 years if you apply on or before 31 December 2026, and 18 months if you apply on or after 1 January 2027. It will allow you to stay for 3 years if you completed a PhD or other doctoral qualification.

Getting your eVisa

If your application is successful, you will get an eVisa — an online record of your immigration status. Your decision email or letter will tell you how to get access to your eVisa. You will need to create a UKVI account and link your travel document to it. This should be the travel document you use to come to the UK. You may have to prove your immigration status when you travel to the UK.

What to do next

Before you apply, check the official GOV.UK Student visa guidance to confirm your eligibility, the exact amount of money you need to show, and the documents required for your circumstances. If you are doing a masters degree or above, check whether you need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate. If you are from a country where a tuberculosis (TB) test is required, arrange that before applying. The official pages list the evidence you need and the steps to apply from inside or outside the UK.