Primrose Kitten

Getting a visa is an important part of coming to the U.K. to study. If you want to come for less than six months, then you can get a short-term visa. But if you want to study for an undergraduate degree, which is more than six months, then you're going to need a Tier 4 (General) student visa.

Your university will be your Tier 4 sponsor, and when they accept you in the course, then they'll give you all of the details that you need to fill in your visa application form, including your Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies, or CAS. For degree-level courses, student visas can be up to five years. There are some exceptions on the time limit if your courses are over five years, such as Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Architecture, some Law courses, and some post-graduate courses.

The Home Office has fixed values to show how much money they expect you to have to be able to support yourself. You're expected to be able to pay all of your fees, and then you're expected to be able to provide yourself with £1,265 each month while you're studying in the U.K. Your course may not be for the entire year—for example, it may only be nine months—so you'd have to have that £1,265 for each of the nine months you were studying in the U.K. You would then have to return home for the other three months of the year.

You're going to need to prove that you're proficient in the English language by completing a SELT course at a certified centre (see previous section), and any criminal convictions are going to have to be disclosed on your visa application form. There is a charge for applying for your visa, and there is no guarantee that the home office will actually grant you a Tier 4 visa. Be prepared: you're going to have to provide lots and lots of documentation to support all of the things that you've stated in your application. However, if you do manage to get your hands on one of those visas, it is going to be a fantastic opportunity for you to come and study in the U.K.