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Visa information
| Who needs a visa? | Applying for a visa | New licences for education providers |
| Sponsorship | UKBA checks on applications | Further information |
Who needs a visa?
If you are a national of a country that is not in the EEA (EU and some additional European countries; full list here (external link)) it is compulsory to obtain entry clearance (known as a visa) before travelling. More information is available on the UKCISA website (external link) on visas and a range of other issues relating to international students, such as opening a bank account and preparing to study here.
Applying for a visa
You should apply for entry clearance before you come to the UK by contacting the British Embassy or High Commission in your country. For further information you can:
- Download the Information Sheet "Making a student immigration application in your home country" from the UKCISA site
- Download the Information Sheet "Making a student immigration application in the UK" (external links)
- Visit the UK Border Agency Visa Services (external link)
Once you have been offered a place to study at Buckingham you should immediately apply for your visa. The Embassy or High Commission will be able to tell the average turnaround time for a visa application. In some countries this can be anything up to three months.
New licences for education providers
Under the new system introduced by the British Government at the end of March 2009, all education providers such as universities will need a UK Border Agency (UKBA) Licence if they want to teach students from outside the EEA. To obtain a Licence, all education providers need to show they are inspected or audited, or hold valid accreditation with one of the UKBA approved accreditation bodies. The University of Buckingham has completed the registration process and is now a 'Registered Provider'.
UKBA will only allow adult students from overseas to study in the UK if they can demonstrate a proven track record in studying before they come here, and if they are enrolling on a course that is for a qualification at Level 3 (A-level) or above. If a student is coming to study English, then the qualification needs to provide a proficiency that is equivalent to A2 on the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) scale. All English language courses offered by the University of Buckingham meet this requirement.
Sponsorship
Before a student is eligible to apply to come to the UK to study, he or she will require an immigration sponsor. The sponsor will be the education provider in the UK that has accepted the student on a course of study, i.e. the University of Buckingham would be the sponsor for someone accepted to study at Buckingham. Sponsoring education providers will issue would-be students with a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS). A CAS is not a guarantee of a visa but will represent 30 points: applicants have to score points against two sets of objective criteria with an overall pass mark of 40. The remaining 10 points relate to the maintenance and funds test: students will need to provide evidence that they have sufficient funds to pay the first year of fees plus £5,400 to cover their first year in the UK.UKBA checks on applications
UKBA will make the final decision on who is permitted to come. When students apply for their entry clearance or visa under the new system, they will need a valid CAS from a licensed sponsor and UKBA will rigorously check all the documentation provided. The key criteria for admission into the UK are:
- Evidence of sufficient funds to pass a maintenance test
- Education documents used to obtain the CAS from the sponsor
Once students have come to the UK there will be on-going checks to ensure that they are complying with the terms of their visa. Under the new system, a student's visa will be locked to the sponsor that issued them with the CAS used for their visa application, and it will therefore be difficult to change to another university. If successful, students will be granted leave for the length of the course up to a maximum of 4 years. The University will issue acceptance letters and report to UKBA when students fail to comply with the terms of their visa.
We will continue to update this page as more information becomes available.
Further information
- Studying in the UK
- Fees and scholarships
- UKCISA (external link)
- Education UK (external link)
Or contact us for advice.