Short-term study visa
Overview
Eligibility
Documents you must provide
Apply
2. Eligibility
You must prove that you:
have been offered a place on a course in the UK at an accepted place of study
have enough money to support yourself without working or help from public funds, or that relatives and friends can support and house you
can pay for your return or onward journey
If you’re under 18 you must also:
have made arrangements for your travel and stay in the UK
have permission from your parent or guardian to study in the UK
Where you can study
You must be accepted on a course with an education provider that holds a Tier 4 sponsor licence.
Otherwise your course will need to be held at an educational institution listed by one of the following:
Accreditation Body for Language Services
Accreditation Service for International Colleges
Accreditation UK
Bridge Schools Inspectorate
British Accreditation Council
Education and Training Inspectorate (in Northern Ireland)
Estyn (in Wales)
HM Inspectorate of Education (in Scotland)
Independent Schools Inspectorate
Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted)
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
Schools Inspection Service
Learning English as a foreign language
You must be at least 18 years old and accepted on a course to learn English as a foreign language if you’re applying for an 11 month Short-term study visa.
A mixed course, some of which is spent studying English, doesn’t count.
Visiting the UK as part of an overseas course
You can apply for a Short-term study visa if you’re at least 18 years old and studying at an overseas higher education institution and part of your course is in the UK.
Your institution must:
hold its own national accreditation
offer only part of its educational programme in the UK
offer programmes that are equivalent to a UK degree
Researching in the UK for a short time
You can come to the UK for a short period of research if already enrolled on an overseas degree course.
To be eligible:
your course must be equivalent to a UK degree
you must be carrying out the research at a UK recognised body, or a body that receives public funding as a higher education institution
you must be at least 18 years old