You may be required to extend or renew your student visa to allow you more time to complete your programme successfully or you may be able to make changes to your course at St Mary's. If you do require a student visa, you are strongly advised to prepare three months prior to your current visa expiry date.
CAS number (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies)
You will need to request a new CAS number to support your student visa application. A CAS number will be assigned to you when you can show that you have the correct documents and finances in place to apply for a new visa. As a duty of care, we will check your documents before your CAS is assigned to ensure they meet the requirements for a Student visa, this will significantly help with avoiding a visa refusal.
Before requesting your CAS you are advised to book an appointment with the UKVI Compliance and Immigration Team to discuss your circumstances. Please include:
- your full name
- your regnum
- the reasons you require a Student visa extension or renewal.
The UKVI Compliance and Immigration Team will respond within 48 hours.
Please use the checklist for making a Student visa application inside the UK and please use the UKCISA guidance for more information about the finances you require.
From 5th October 2020, if a new applicant is applying for permission to stay and has been living in the UK with permission for 12 months or more on the date of their application, they will meet the financial requirement and will not need to show funds as part of their application. St Mary's policy includes additional checks to ensure applicants can afford to pay for the remainder of their studies.
Begin your Student visa application extension
For more information, please visit:
- GOV.UK – Student visa eligibility
- UKCISA – making a Student visa application inside the UK.
CAS request
- You will need to request your CAS by completing the request form (below) and please attach copies of the documents you would like to be assessed.
- All documents submitted with a Student visa application must be originals.
- A CAS number will only be assigned when all of the visa requirements have been met.
Request your CAS
CAS Deposit
You will need to pay a £2000 deposit to secure your new CAS number.
A new CAS number will be assigned to you once all relevant checks have been completed, to ensure your visa application will meet Home Office requirements.
Your deposit can be offset against your course fees and once the university has received the money your new CAS will be assigned.
The paid deposit will amount of £2000 will be shown on your CAS, if you would like to pay more of your course fees during your CAS assessment you can do this and the full amount will be shown.
Student visa application costs
£490 is the standard Student visa application fee. You will also need to pay your immigration health surcharge as part of your Student visa application which is £776 per 12 months of leave. Calculate how much you will need to pay. If your permission includes part of a year that is six months or less you will be charged an additional £388 for this period.
£19.20 to have your biometric information (fingerprints and a photo) taken and you will be required to book an appointment as part of the visa application process.
- £990 if you apply using the priority service (5 working days)
- £1490 if you apply using the super priority service ('next working day').
For the details of the prices for the VIP service (formerly super premium service), send a General Enquiry to Sopra Steria to discuss your requirements. The VIP service means that a group of you (up to 10 applicants) can apply at the same time, a courier will also collect your documents, and the Home Office comes to you to take your biometrics. You should receive a decision within 24 hours.
There are a number of 'Value Added Services' available that you can select at an additional cost after you have submitted your application online. Some of these services include document checking (£48), an interpretation service (£70) and an SMS service (£2.00 per appointment). We would recommend that you do not select this service unless you want to pay additional costs. The important thing to remember is to include relevant documents as part of your application and take all originals with you to your appointment if required. You will be required to pay the application fee online before you are able to select an appointment date or time.
Do you require assistance with a qualified solicitor?
- Immigration Law Practitioners' Association – to find assistance with immigration related issues including finding a local qualified Solicitor.
- Free Movement – to find assistance with immigration related issues including online consultations, anytime, anywhere (starting prices are £90).
- GOV.UK – find a registered immigration adviser via the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) Adviser Finder.
If you need specific free advice, you can contact qualified UKCISA student advisers on the student advice line.
Student advice line
You may not get through when you first call but please keep trying and you will be able to speak to someone.
Lines are open Monday to Friday (except for public holidays) from 1-4pm (UK time).
Contact number:
Standard national/international call charges apply.
Please note the following.
- UKCISA only give advice by telephone. No personal appointments or advice by email.
- UKCISA do not provide advice on social media or via email.
- UKCISA do not provide any form of financial support such as sponsorships, scholarships, or grants.
Repeating
Students must have classroom attendance to be classified a repeater. If students have timetabled classes covering the whole academic year, they may have the option to repeat the failed modules in the UK upon approval from the visa team and the course lead. In this instance, students do not need to apply for a new Student visa if their Student leave can cover the repeating period. However, they will need to extend their Student leave before they progress to the final year. If students need to repeat the final year while their Student leave cannot cover the repeating period, a new CAS needs to be requested from the visa team prior to their leave expiring to enable visa extensions from inside the UK.
Interrupted Studies
A Student visa is granted for the purpose of actively engaging with studies inside the UK. Where there is not adequate attendance covering the whole academic year to justify students’ remaining in the UK, and resit work for the failed modules can be submitted remotely, the student must take Interrupted Studies for the year upon approval from the visa team and the course lead. This requires them to return overseas, submit remotely, pass the resits and re-apply for a new Student visa before continuing the next level of studies in the UK. There will not be course fee liability for this option. The release of a CAS for a new Student visa application can only be considered by the visa team upon students successfully passing the resits.
You may require more time in the UK on a Student visa to complete your programme. This could be because you have repeated or will repeat a year of studies, or you have taken or will take a placement year.
You should contact the visa team after you receive the official result sheet at the end of the academic year. If you are successful in passing the year and eligible to progress to the final year of studies, we will guide you through the process of requesting a new CAS for your visa extension. The last day you can extend your visa from inside the UK is your current visa’s end date. Please do not request a new CAS before you receive the result sheet confirming your progression, as a CAS can only be released if you pass the previous level of studies, this is based on the academic progress requirement of the Immigration Rules.
Visa extension is not usually offered to Master’s students because of the lack of in-person attendance and active engagement following the exams. A justification for physically remaining longer inside the UK cannot be provided to the Home Office, carrying risk of visa refusals which will negatively affect students’ future immigration applications.
If remote submission or presentation is possible, students must return overseas before their visas expire. If physical resits are required, these should preferably be arranged before a student’s visa expiry date to facilitate their in-time course completion which provides options for their switching to other visa routes from the UK. If a physical resit can only be arranged after the visa expiry date, a student is recommended to return to the UK on a Standard visitor visa.
An exception to this is when a Master’s student may need to repeat the course partially or wholly due to Extenuating Circumstances, provided that the Extenuating Circumstances policy has been followed and accepted at the faculty level.
A new CAS number for a student visa extension must be requested prior to the submission or resubmission of the soft bound thesis and where the period of registration allows.
If more time is required to complete a PhD and a new course end date is agreed including completion of the full PhD (with viva); a CAS number can be issued subject to confirmation of satisfactory progress and engagement with studies. The visa team must receive confirmation from a supervisor that ‘in person’ attendance is required with full access to university facilities for the entire visa extension period. Where a new visa is granted, students will receive four extra months at the end of their new visa called: ‘extant leave’.
In cases where a PhD student has a viva outcome of minor or major corrections, it is often necessary for them to remain on campus to conduct further research and maintain close supervision. In these cases a visa extension will be considered. Only one visa extension during the full period of study should be necessary unless there this is mitigation, e.g. Serious illness or injury. In these cases extenuating circumstances must be submitted by the student and will be considered.
We are unable to support extensions of the original student visa where a student is no longer expected to actively engage with their studies. For example, if final submissions have occurred, there is no option to extend a student visa for more time to remain inside the UK if there are no longer studies to actively engage with.
Applying for a Standard visitor visa
If an applicant is overseas and does not have valid leave to enter or re-enter the UK, the visa team are unable to support a new CAS number request to attend a viva examination. The applicant must apply for a Standard visitor visa in accordance with the current Home Office guidance.