Visas, immigration and CAS
In order to study in the UK you'll need to meet the various visa and immigration conditions outlined by the Home Office.
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Understanding your visa
If you're an international student, you must understand and comply with the conditions set out in your visa. Breaching your visa conditions could have serious consequences for your immigration status and could affect your right to study in the UK.
You can find the required guidance for securing your CAS and Student Route visa, as well as FAQs on placements.
Student Route visas
In order to study in the UK you'll need to meet the various visa and immigration conditions outlined by the Home Office. But before you apply for your Student Route visa, you must request a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS).
Once you have received a CAS, you can then apply for a student visa. Before making your application, read the information on the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) website. You'll also get guidance from our specialist international team on the following CAS and Applying for your visa pages.
Placement year FAQs
It is possible to add a placement year into your degree. However, there are some rules you must follow.
If you would like to add a placement year, you must first secure the placement by the relevant deadline. The placement office must then approve the course transfer.
You will need to apply for a new CAS as a continuing student to obtain a new visa that will cover the remaining length of the course.
You are permitted to work full time hours for your approved placement employer.
In addition to this, you can work a maximum of 20 hours per week for any other employer.
Your faculty will transfer you off the placement route and you will be awarded the one-year masters at the next exam board. The compliance team will report your change of course to the Home Office and your visa will be cancelled within 10 days of your new course end date. UKVI will send you an email confirming your new visa expiry date. As a guide you will still have four months extant leave from the date of the visa cancellation report.
After you receive the email confirmation of your visa cancellation from the compliance team, you will have four months of extant leave.
Please obtain a course completion letter from your faculty student office after your new course end date. You can provide this to your employer as proof of your course completion.
For more details on working requirements, read our advice on working in the UK on a Student Visa. Or contact our immigration advice team for more details on [email protected].
If you travel outside the UK after your new end date has been reported to the Home Office, you risk not being eligible to apply for the Graduate Route.
The advice from the Home Office is not to travel outside the UK until your Graduate Route visa has been granted.
Graduate route FAQs
A Graduate visa gives you permission to stay in the UK for at least 2 years after successfully completing a course in the UK.
You must be in the UK when you apply for a Graduate visa.
The Graduate Route is only open to those who have successfully completed their course and who have valid Student Route permission when they apply. You must be fully awarded before you can apply. Therefore, if you are required to use your extant leave to complete failed modules, you may not have enough time left on your visa to apply for the Graduate Route.
Whether you are still eligible will depend on your individual circumstances.
Following the exam board and assuming you have been awarded your full degree, we will inform UKVI of your eligibility for the Graduate Route visa.
You will receive an email confirmation of this with your CAS number and further details on how to apply.
Immigration updates
The UK government published the latest statement of changes on 14th October 2025. You can read the statement in full here.
The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) has also posted a news article on its website in response to the statement.
There are two main changes that will affect international students:
From 1 January 2027
The length of permission granted under the Graduate route will change for some applicants.
- Bachelor’s or Master’s Graduates
If you hold Student permission in the UK and successfully complete an eligible UK bachelor’s or master’s degree, your Graduate route application will grant 18 months of permission (instead of the current two years) if you apply on or after 1 January 2027. Applications made before this date will not be affected. - PhD and Doctoral Graduates
If you successfully complete a PhD or other doctoral qualification, there is no change. You will continue to receive three years of permission under the Graduate route.
These changes were outlined in the Immigration White Paper (May 2025) and will only apply to applications submitted on or after 1 January 2027.
From 11 November 2025
The amount of money you need to show as evidence of meeting the maintenance requirement under the Student route will increase for those studying in London.
- New maintenance amount: £1,529 per month (up to a maximum of 9 months)
- Accommodation offset: The maximum amount you can deduct for accommodation costs will also rise to £1,529.
These changes apply to applications made under the Student route on or after 11 November 2025. For applications made before 11 November 2025, the current amount of maintenance still applies: £1,483 per month up to 9 months (total £13,347).
Got a question?
Our international team is always happy to help. Send us a message and the appropriate department will email or call you back.
