UK Student Visa: Applying, Extending and Staying Longer

The UK Student visa lets you study in the UK if you are 16 or over, have an offer from a licensed student sponsor, can prove you have enough money to support yourself and pay for your course, and can speak, read, write and understand English. If you are 16 or 17, you also need parental consent. The visa has replaced the Tier 4 (General) student visa. This page sets out the key facts you need to check before you apply, including when to apply, how long you can stay, the fee, and how you might extend your stay or switch to a Graduate visa afterwards.

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 must also have 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 will 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 instead be eligible for a Child Student visa.

The visa covers further and higher education courses. You cannot study at an academy or a local authority-funded school (also known as a maintained school) on a Student visa.

When to apply and how long decisions take

The earliest you can apply depends on whether you are applying from inside or outside the UK.

Situation	Earliest you can apply	Usual decision time
Applying from outside the UK	6 months before your course starts	3 weeks
Applying from inside the UK	3 months before your course starts	8 weeks

If you are applying from inside the UK, you must apply before your current visa expires, and your new course must begin within 28 days of your current visa expiring.

You may be able to pay to get a faster decision, but you will only be told if you can when you apply.

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 your course is below degree level, you can usually stay for up to 2 years.

The official guidance gives the exact length of stay for your circumstances, so you should read that guidance to find out precisely how long you can stay.

When you can travel to the UK

You can arrive before your course starts, but the permitted window depends on the length of your course. If your course lasts 6 months or less, you can arrive up to 1 week before it starts. If your course lasts more than 6 months, you can arrive up to 1 month before it starts.

You must not travel to the UK before the start date given on your visa, no matter when your course starts.

Fees and the healthcare surcharge

It costs £558 to apply for a Student visa from outside the UK. It also costs £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.

If you are extending your visa, you will also need to have your fingerprints and a photo (biometric information) taken — there is no fee for this.

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 also be able to work, but 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. And you cannot study at an academy or a local authority-funded school.

If your application is successful, you will be told what you can and cannot do on a Student visa.

Extending your 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 your visa you must be in the UK on a Student visa or a Tier 4 (General) student visa. You must have an unconditional offer of a place on a course with a licensed student sponsor, shown by your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS). You must also show that your studies are at a higher academic level than your current course — this is called the academic progress requirement — although 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.

Showing academic progress

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 (HEP)
• intercalated to a medicine, dentistry or medical science course you started studying under your Student visa (including a Tier 4 (General) 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 (including a Tier 4 (General) student visa)
• completing a PhD or other doctorate that you started studying under your last Student visa (including a Tier 4 (General) student visa)
• continuing your medical, dentistry or medical science degree after completing an intercalated course
• applying to extend your stay to complete your studies because you have done (or want to do) a work placement or study abroad programme

If you are applying to work in the UK, you can get a CAS if you are applying to work as a student union sabbatical officer.

When to apply to extend

The earliest you can apply is 3 months before your course starts. You must apply before your current visa expires, and 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.

You must also apply within 6 months of getting a CAS.

You can stay in the UK until you get your decision. If you applied for an administrative review because your application was refused, you can stay in the UK until you get your review decision.

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.

Fees and how long an extension takes

For each person, you will need to pay £558 to extend this visa, plus the healthcare surcharge. A decision will usually be made within 8 weeks. You may be able to pay to get a faster decision, but you will be told if you can when you apply.

You will be contacted if your application is complex and will take longer, for example because your supporting documents need to be verified, you need to attend an interview, or because of your personal circumstances (for example if you have a criminal conviction).

If you need to change something in your application after you have sent it, contact UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI). You can ask to withdraw your application by contacting UKVI. Your fee will only be refunded if UKVI has not started processing your application.

If your application is successful, you will get an eVisa — a digital record of your identity and 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.

Switching to a Graduate visa

After you successfully complete 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
• 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.

Your partner and children

You may be able to bring your partner and children (dependants) with you on a Student visa. If you are extending your visa, 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.

What to do next

Before you apply, check the official GOV.UK Student visa guidance in full, because the exact length of stay, the money you need to show, and the academic progress rules depend on your specific course and circumstances. If you are doing a masters degree or above, you may also need to apply for the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) certificate, and you should check whether you need a tuberculosis (TB) test. Verify the current fee and the healthcare surcharge amount on the official page, since these can change. Apply online, prove your identity as directed, and do not travel outside the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man while an extension application is pending.