About the visa process
From 5 October 2020, the Student route under the UK’s new points based system replaced the Tier 4 visa system. All students applying through the new Student route will need to demonstrate you meet the required 70 points. You will achieve the required points if you can demonstrate that you have an offer from an approved educational institution, speak English and are able to support yourself financially during your studies in the UK. More details are available from the Government website.
From January 2021, European Economic Area (EEA) students need to apply through the Student route, ahead of arriving in the UK. EEA students resident in the UK on or before 31 December 2020 should not apply through this route. They, and their family, are eligible to apply for the EU Settlement Scheme the deadline to apply was 30 June 2021 for most people. If you should have applied but missed this deadline please contact IAG for more information.
View further guidance for EEA students.
Funds
- You must provide proof of having enough funds to cover course fees for the first year of study
and
- You must have a specific amount of money to prove to UK Visas & Immigration that you can afford living expenses, for the first year of your studies, this is also known as 'maintenance' (please see below for specific amounts of maintenance/funds required).
For UK courses in all areas of the UK outside of London, in addition to proving you have funds to cover your full course fees for the first year of your studies, UK Visas & Immigration also require you to prove that you have an additional £9,207 to cover your living costs for a period of nine months (£1,023 per month).
The University of Liverpool is not involved in this part of your visa application and you should direct any queries about funds to UK Visas & Immigration directly.
Immigration Health Surcharge
All students applying to study on a Student visa in the UK must pay an ‘immigration health surcharge’ (IHS). The NHS health surcharge will allow those holding a Student visa to receive most National Healthcare Service (NHS) treatments in the UK for free.
The IHS is payable in full when you apply for your visa. If your visa is refused the surcharge payment will be refunded in full.
You can find more information about the health surcharge on the University’s International Advice and Guidance webpage.
Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)
To apply for your visa, you must first have a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS). This CAS can only be issued by a sponsor, usually an educational institution with a sponsor license, such as the University of Liverpool.
Your CAS is a unique reference number which links you to the University. It confirms that we have accepted you on to a relevant course and includes all the details that UK Visas & Immigration has asked universities to provide (including a unique ID number).
For undergraduate students, we will send you your CAS statement when:
- you have firmly accepted our offer of a place; AND
- you have met any academic and non-academic conditions of the offer (which means your UCAS status is Unconditional Firm at Liverpool and we have received evidence of your qualifications).
For postgraduate students, we will send you your CAS statement when:
- you have firmly accepted an unconditional offer of a place; AND
- you have met any academic and non-academic conditions of the offer and we have received evidence of your qualifications; AND
- you have paid a tuition fee deposit of £2,000.
Please note, we will accept copies of academic documents during the application process as evidence of your qualifications. However, the original documents must be presented when you register at the University. We are directed by UK Visas & Immigration to request this evidence; you will not be able to complete the registration process until you have presented your original academic documents.
A CAS statement is valid for six months from the date of issue. If you are applying for a place as a postgraduate research student and your programme starts before term start, we will issue you a CAS statement as soon as you have accepted an unconditional offer and we have all the evidence of your qualifications.
We will contact you by email if we need to discuss anything with you. Please make sure that you have provided your current email address and that you check it regularly. Please also ensure that you send us proof of your qualifications as soon as you have them, so there is no delay in the production of your CAS statement.
Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS)
The Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) is a UK Government verification process for international students. ATAS is compulsory for ALL international (non-EU) offer holders who are applying for a programme that requires ATAS clearance.
View more information on ATAS.
Further advice and information
Staff in International Advice and Guidance (IAG) at the University are qualified to provide information and advice about immigration and visa procedures and you may find it useful to look at the IAG webpages for contact details and further information about applying for your visa.
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