If you renew your visa outside the UK, you need to follow the same procedure as students applying for a visa for the first time.
You cannot apply for a visa more than six months before your course start date if applying outside the UK.
You'll need your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) statement from the University. You can request your CAS via e:Vision when your offer becomes unconditional.
All visa applicants are required to provide biometric data and some applicants will also need to undergo health (tuberculosis) screening.
Useful links
Apply
- Apply for your visa via the Gov.uk website.
It is your responsibility to collect the documents you need for your visa application. Your application form will confirm which documents you need to submit from the following:
All documents submitted which are not in English or Welsh must be accompanied by a full translation that can be checked by UK Visas and Immigration. The translation must contain:
A student qualifies for the differentiation arrangements if he/she is a national of one of the countries the Home Office classifies as 'Low risk' .
If you are a national of one of the countries the Home Office classifies as 'low risk', there is no requirement to provide evidence of finances or qualifications with your Student Visa application. However, you will need to provide an ATAS certificate (if appropriate) and sign your application form to confirm you have sufficient funds and that you hold documentary evidence of any qualifications listed. The Home Office reserves the right to ask you to provide these documents at a later date. Failure to provide the evidence if requested by the Home Office will result in your application being refused.
The Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) was introduced in order to ensure that people who are applying to study certain sensitive subjects in the UK do not have links to Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). Non-EEA students studying on certain science, engineering and technology degrees will have to apply for an ATAS clearance certificate before obtaining a new visa.
To check whether you need an ATAS certificate, and for more details about the ATAS scheme, please see Gov.uk.
Failure to provide a valid ATAS clearance certificate (if your course requires one) when you submit your Student visa online application form will result in your application being refused.
To apply for an ATAS certificate, you will need to use the text provided in your conditional offer letter. You should go to Gov.uk and, using your text, complete the online application form.
As part of the application, you will be asked to provide a supervisor name. If your supervisor has not been confirmed by the time you make your ATAS application, then you should insert the name of the Head of Department in the appropriate box.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) will process the application and email a certificate to you, which you should print out and submit with your other documents. The FCO gets very busy at certain times of the year and so you are strongly advised to apply at least eight weeks before you intend to apply for your student visa.
Visas for more than six months include an Immigration Health Surcharge. Paying this will mean that you are entitled to receive certain free health services from the National Health Service (NHS) while you are in the UK, but please note that this is not private medical insurance.
Use the Immigration Health Surcharge tool to check how much you will have to pay.
The Student Visa application form will direct you to the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) portal where you can pay the required charge.
Note: some people are exempt from paying the immigration health surcharge, including Australian and New Zealand nationals and British Overseas Territory citizens who live in the Falkland Islands. However, these applicants must still complete the IHS portal and obtain a reference number.
Students applying for the Student Visa who are under the age of 18 are required to provide evidence of parent(s)/legal guardian(s) having consented to their travel to the UK. You must also provide evidence of your relationship with your parent(s)/legal guardian(s).
Acceptable evidence includes one of the following:
Please note copies of the above documents must be translated if not in English. A translated document must meet UKVI (UK Visas and Immigration) requirements and should contain the following information:
If you need further guidance on translated documents you can email the International Student Support Team at immigration@york.ac.uk
After you have received your offer, you will receive a 'consent to travel' form for your parent(s)/legal guardian(s) to complete and sign. You will then need to return this form to ug-admissions@york.ac.uk before we can issue you with a Confirmation of Acceptance to Study (CAS).
If your application is successful, a temporary visa sticker will be placed in your passport giving you one month in which to travel into the UK. The permanent BRP (Biometric Residence Permit) visa card is collected from a designated post office in the UK. Most students select the post office in WHSmiths on Coney Street in York city centre to collect their BRP. The BRP will include information on restrictions for working during your studies. You should also check the UKVI letter confirming your successful visa application for details of your visa conditions, such as police registration. This letter is sent by email and is an important document which you should keep. Your visa will allow you to enter and leave the UK for the duration of its validity.