Applying for a Student Visa from outside the UK

If you want to apply for a Student Visa from outside the UK, follow the steps below.

Latest updates

Where possible we would advise you not to book flights to the UK that cannot be rescheduled or refunded until you have received your passport and vignette (visa), or notification the visa has been granted if you applied with a EU/EEA passport using the UKVI ID check app.

Up-to-date information on visa processing times

Step 1: Request a CAS

New students

When you receive your unconditional offer, follow the instructions given to you by our Admissions Service.

CAS for new students

Continuing students

Request your CAS from ISSAC using casenquiries@sheffield.ac.uk, including your full name and registration number.

Step 2: Check your details

Once your CAS has been issued, check it carefully to ensure that:

All of your personal and course details are correct
Your CAS shows any fee payments to the University
Your CAS has a note to confirm details of any scholarships you receive from the University. Scholarships you receive from elsewhere will not be included on your CAS
Your CAS shows any accommodation payments you have made to the University (if applicable)

Step 3: Prepare financial and supporting documents

Once you have checked your details, you need to prepare your financial and supporting documents.

Examples of supporting documents

To meet the financial requirements you must have had the required minimum balance in your bank account for at least 28 days before you submit your application (unless you are using an alternative method to meet the requirement such as official financial sponsorship or a loan - see the Supporting documents page for more information).
You must submit the visa application within 31 days of your bank document being issued.
The submission date for your visa application is the date that you pay your application fee online.
Any dependents applying with you must also meet the financial requirements: Dependants and Student Visas overseas
You do not need to book accommodation in the UK before you apply for your Student visa. The application form guide below tells you how to address this on the visa application form depending on whether you have booked it before you apply
Your passport does not need to be valid for the whole duration of the Student visa you will be granted. It needs to be valid at the time your visa is granted and at the time you are travelling to the UK

Step 4: Complete visa application form

Any dependants (spouse/partner and or children) applying with you will need to complete a separate application form and pay the application fees separately. You cannot add dependants to your application form when applying for the Student visa outside the UK.

Once you have prepared your documents, you must register and complete the visa application form below. Use the guide that you can download at the bottom of this page to help you. The guide covers many common questions asked about the application form and will help you to avoid making mistakes.

Visa application form

To complete the visa application form you must:

Pay the visa fees AND the Immigration Health Surcharge
Book an appointment at a visa application centre (unless you are eligible to use the app to confirm your identity - see Step 5 below for more details).

If applying for a Student visa outside the UK, you must apply either:

In your country of nationality, or
In the country in which you are living (this means a country where you are there lawfully for a reason other than a short-term visit)

If it is not possible to attend a visa application centre in your home country (for example because it has closed or there is not one in that country), you can find details for an alternative location where you will be permitted to attend here:

Find a visa application centre

Step 5: Attend appointment at visa application centre (for some applications)

You will either be required to book an appointment at a visa application centre, or you will be invited to use the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app to scan your identity document and upload a photograph of yourself.

After you confirm your nationality, the first few screens of the online form advise you whether you will need to attend a biometric appointment, or if you can use the app.

UKVI website

If you need to attend an appointment, you will be invited to book an appointment after submitting your visa application online.

You may also be asked to attend a credibility interview.

Credibility interviews

Step 6: Check the results of your application

If your application is successful:

When you attend a biometric appointment at a Visa Application Centre, you will be issued with a visa vignette valid for one journey to the UK. If the decision letter or email confirms the visa you have been granted is longer than 6 months, the vignette should be valid for 90 days. We expect that UKVI will still issue vignettes and stamp the vignette at the border when you travel to the UK until they stop issuing vignettes later in 2025. You will no longer be issued with a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) card to collect after you have arrived the UK. Instead, you will be given instructions on how to activate an eVisa (digital status) - eVisas
If you have used the ‘UK Immigration: ID Check’ app, you will be given a digital immigration status which you can view and prove online.
Where the visa you have been granted is less than six months in length, and you did not use ID: check app to confirm your identity, you will just receive a vignette for covering the whole duration of your visa. You will not get a BRP.

If your visa application has been granted:

Check the length and conditions of your visa are correct.

Student Visa duration

If anything on your visa vignette, digital status or your visa decision letter is incorrect:

Contact your visa application centre.

Where your application has been refused:

Complete the form:

Visa refusals form

If you encounter any further problems:

Visit problems with Student Visa application.

For any further questions, contact International Student Support, Advice & Compliance.

University of Sheffield International College (USIC) students

If you're a USIC student progressing to the University of Sheffield, the page below provides specific information about your visa application and when each step of the process will take place.

New International College students