Study at a UK institution on a Student visa application prepared to satisfy the requirements at first submission.
Your offer is confirmed, or nearly. Now a visa application stands between you and a course you have already committed to. There is some comfort in the fact that the Student route is one of the more predictable applications in the system. There is less comfort in how unforgiving it is about detail. Most students who are refused are not refused because they are not genuine students, or because they do not have the money. They are refused over how the money was held and how it was shown. People with far more than enough in the account get refused because the balance dipped for a single day, or because a statement did not print the account holder's name. You can get this right. It simply has to be exact.
This is a general guide only; we confirm your exact position at the free consultation.
A free consultation to confirm your route and your finances
A document checklist matched to your course and your sponsor
Preparation of your application, reviewed before it is submitted
Your approval, then support with submission
Updates through to the decision
Four things have to be true on the day you apply.
The amounts and the exact holding period are set by the government and revised periodically. We confirm the current figures for your course and your city at your free consultation, rather than publishing numbers here that may be out of date by the time you read them.
Almost all of it comes down to the money, and almost none of it comes down to how much money you have.
This is the point most applicants miss. Your application is judged on the format of your evidence, not on whether you could afford the course. A student whose parents hold many times the required amount still gets refused because the balance dipped below the line for one day inside the qualifying window, or because the statement did not show the account holder's name. The funds were real. The proof was not in the required shape.
Nobody will email you to ask for the missing page. The decision is made on what is in the file.
Immigration advice in the UK is expensive, and the price is often hidden until you are already committed. Published rates for a spouse or partner application run from around £1,500 to £5,400. Student work is often quoted lower, but it is still commonly billed by the hour, so the final figure is unknown on the day you sign. Initial meetings alone are commonly charged at £300 to £500 plus VAT.
Our fee is £500. Fixed. It does not rise because your case turns out to be awkward, and the first consultation is free.
Separate from our fee are the Home Office application fee and the health surcharge, which students pay at a reduced rate. Those are government charges, they change, and we give you the current figures in writing instead of a number that might be stale. Depending on your course and nationality you may also pay for an English test, tuberculosis screening, ATAS or translations.
Everything is itemised before you decide anything. Our fees page sets out exactly what we charge and what we do not.
Most full-time degree students can work a limited number of hours in term time and full time in the holidays, but the exact conditions are attached to your own visa and depend on your course and your provider. Check your own conditions rather than what a friend was told. Working more hours than your visa allows is one of the few mistakes on this route that can follow you for years.
Bringing family with you is only possible on a narrow set of courses, mainly postgraduate research programmes and certain government-sponsored courses. If your family coming with you is not negotiable, find that out before you accept an offer rather than after.
After your course, the Graduate route allows eligible students to stay and work for a period, and other routes may open up to you, including sponsored work. If you intend to stay, plan it early. Our visa extension page explains why keeping your status continuous matters so much later.
We do not invent urgency. There are no limited slots here, and our price is not going up next week. But some dates on this route are genuinely fixed, and they are worth respecting.
Your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies expires. Your qualifying financial window has a start date and an end date. Your course has an enrolment deadline, and universities do defer places when a visa does not arrive in time. If any of those dates are close, say so at the consultation and we will tell you honestly whether it is achievable.
Our preparation usually takes two to four weeks from the point your documents are complete, and we can move faster when a real date requires it.
Enough to cover your outstanding course fees plus living costs for a set number of months, and the living cost rate is different for study in London and outside London. The amounts are set by the government and revised periodically, so we give you the current figures for your course rather than publishing numbers that may be out of date. You can also check them on GOV.UK.
For an unbroken run of days ending shortly before you apply. The balance must not fall below the required level on any single day inside that window, and that is what catches most people out. We confirm the exact number of days and the exact dates that apply to your application.
Yes, if they are your parents or your legal guardians. You will need evidence of the relationship and their written permission for you to use the funds. Money held by an uncle, a cousin or a family friend generally will not be accepted, however genuine the offer is.
Most full-time students at degree level can work limited hours in term time and full time during vacations, but your exact conditions depend on your course and provider and are stated on your visa. Do not rely on what another student tells you. Check your own conditions.
Only on a narrow set of courses, mainly postgraduate research and certain government-sponsored programmes. Check this before you accept your offer rather than afterwards, because it can decide which course you choose.
A Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies. It is an electronic record your licensed education provider creates after you accept an unconditional offer and pass their checks. You use its reference number in your application. It expires, and it can only be used once.
It depends on your nationality, your existing qualifications and the level of your course. Some universities are permitted to assess your English themselves for degree-level study. We confirm what applies to you before you book and pay for a test you may not need.
Our fee is £500, fixed, and the consultation is free. On top of that come the Home Office fee, the health surcharge at the student rate, and any test, screening or translation costs. You can build an estimate for your own circumstances with our cost calculator, and we confirm every figure in writing before you commit.
Book your free 30-minute consultation for a straightforward, honest assessment of your matter.