Visas and Immigration

Visa Application Centres are beginning to reopen. Reopening of VACs is subject to local conditions. This remains a fluid situation, and UKVI continue to review daily. To ensure you always have the most up to date information on which VACs are open, please check the relevant links via the UK Government website.

Please check our Covid-19 page for up-to-date information regarding our plans and advice relating to the pandemic.

On 5^th October 2020 the Tier 4 visa route was replaced by a new visa route, simply called “Student Visa”.  If you hold a ‘old’ Tier 4 visa, it remains valid and continues with exactly the same conditions and rights as before.

The UKCISA website is an invaluable resource for up-to-date guidance on visa and immigration related matters. We advise reading through their guidance thoroughly before deciding to travel to the UK to study as an international student.

A self-assessment can be undertaken via the UK Government’s Visas and Immigration website.

If your course is six months or fewer in duration (eg. if you are studying abroad for one term or will be an occasional student), you will not always require a Student Visa. This is applicable to the remaining course duration when you resume your studies from interruption. No student visa will be issued for the purpose of resit or resubmission.

Once you hold an unconditional offer, and once visa allocations are received for the academic year (it is typically around 3 months prior to the start of the programme), we will begin to issue CAS. Once you receive your CAS, you should apply using the UK Government’s Visas and Immigration website under the Points Based System Form for a Student Visa.

You will be required to go to a specified centre and provide bio-metric details – as such it is advised to make arrangements to apply for the visa and comply with any requirements well in advance. You will typically be required to send your application to your nearest British Embassy or Consulate – as processing times can vary greatly, do ensure you allow for enough time.

You cannot apply for a visa more than 3 months prior to the start of the programme if you are applying within the UK– doing so will result in your visa being automatically refused.

As per UKVI guidance, you may be required to provide the following as part of your visa application:

• a valid passport, and any old passports that were used to travel to the UK previously
• two recent passport photographs
• application fee
• your CAS number
• evidence used to obtain your offer of a place at the Courtauld (for example: original transcripts or certificates) as listed in your CAS. Your CAS should state whether or not you are required to include evidence of having taken a Secure English Language Test (SELT)
• evidence that you can afford your fees and maintenance as per UKVI requirements
• nationals of some countries are required to obtain a certificate confirming they are free from tuberculosis. You must ensure you get this before applying for your visa. More information can be found on the UKVI website
• nationals of some countries are considered to be “low risk nationals”. Please see: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/300949/Appendix_H.pdf . If you are a low risk national applying in your country of origin you may not need to supply your financial and academic documents at the time of application, but still should adhere and have the required documents available, as you may be asked to supply financial evidence at a later date.
• NHS surcharge

You will be issued with a visa grant letter and an entry vignette sticker once your visa application has been approved. The entry vignette will be provided in your passport– this will allow you to travel to the UK within a 30-day period. After arriving in the UK you will need to collect your Biometrics Residence Permit (BRP) – which is in effect your Student Visa – from the UK post office selected on your application form at the application stage. This must typically be done within 10 days. The Entry Clearance vignette typically lasts for 90 days for you to enter the UK, please note this is not the end date for your visa. Your BRP will show the end date which covers your course end date.

You must check the information (as indicated below) on both your entry vignette sticker and visa grant letter carefully and contact the issuing embassy if you suspect that a mistake has been made. If this problem results will delay your arrival/enrolment, please let us know immediately.

We recommend that you take a photocopy of your entry vignette sticker, visa grant letter and the information page of passport and store this is a safe place.

After receiving your Entry Vignette and Visa Grant Letter you should check the following:

• that the end date is what is expected – you should be granted a visa for the length of the course plus an additional 4 months if your course lasts for more than 12 months, the length of the course plus 2 months if the course lasts for between 6 and 12 months, and the length of the course plus one week if your course lasts for less than 6 months
• that it includes the Courtauld’s licence number of B57DU3E99 – you will not be able to enrol if this number is incorrect
• that it includes the correct work conditions – ie. “20 hours a week”
• that all your personal details are correct.

Information should be consistent throughout your Entry Vignette, Visa Grant Letter and BRP (details below).

Should your visa application be successful, you will be issued a temporary entry vignette in your passport valid for 30 days only from the date you intend to enter the UK.  Upon entering the UK you will be required to collect your BRP within 10 days of arrival. The BRP functions as your visa document representing your right to be in the UK.

For EU students who used UKVI App to verify their ID, BRP will not be issued. You can use the link to prove your immigration status for enrolment.

https://www.gov.uk/view-prove-immigration-status

As students cannot enrol without their BRP (unless EU students who used the UKVI App for ID checks), it is essential that you plan to arrive in the UK in advance of your enrolment in order to allow enough time to collect your BRP.

Once you have your BRP:

You should contact UKVI immediately to resolve these issues if there are any mistakes on your BRP once you have picked it up: https://www.gov.uk/biometric-residence-permits/report-problem

Issues might include:

• unable to collect their permit within 10 working days of arriving in the United Kingdom;
• need someone to either collect their BRP on their behalf or accompany them to collect their BRP – because they are have a serious illness or disability, or they are under 18 and cannot collect their permit at the same time as their parent or legal guardian collects their own permit;
• lost their permit or it has been stolen; or
• identify a mistake on their permit.

Replacing a BRP could prove particularly costly.  Please read the information on the above website thoroughly and ensure you replace your BRP in the time allotted – failure to do so could result in a £1,000 fine.

To be eligible to apply for a Graduate visa, you will need to:

• hold a current Tier 4/Student visa;

Not all courses at the Courtauld are eligible for student visa sponsorship and therefore will not be eligible for the Graduate route. PhD graduates with permission under the Doctorate Extension Scheme are not eligible to apply for a Graduate visa.

• have studied a Bachelors, Masters or PhD at The Courtauld;

The Courtauld Graduate Diploma in the History of Art course is not eligible to apply for a Graduate visa.

• have successfully completed your degree;

You are considered to have successfully completed your degree for the purpose of applying for the Graduate visa once you have received your final results by email (‘Confirmation of Results’ email sent from assessment.no-reply@courtauld.ac.uk email address) and forwarded the confirmation email to Admissions Team (pgadmissions@courtauld.ac.uk). It does not mean you need to have attended a graduation ceremony.

You need to have completed the degree for which your Tier 4/Student visa was granted.

After forwarding the confirmation email to Admissions Team,  you will need to wait until you have received a reply from the Team confirming we have notified UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) of your successful completion before you can apply for the Graduate visa. See the section on ‘When can I apply?’.

Please contact Admissions Office if you are eligible to apply for the Graduate Visa before you request an extension of your submission deadline.

• have studied for a minimum period of time in the UK on a Tier 4/Student visa;

The minimum period of study for the Graduate visa is at least 12 months OR the full length of your course, whichever is shorter.  Time spent overseas during permitted breaks from study such as outside of our published term dates or at the weekend can be included in the minimum period.

• provide a letter of consent if financially sponsored by a Government or international scholarship agency;

If in the 12 months before the date of application you have been awarded a scholarship or sponsorship by a Government or international scholarship agency covering fees and living costs for study in the UK, you must provide a letter of consent from the sponsor organisation to support the application.

• apply in the UK within the validity of your current Tier 4/Student visa.

Permission under the Graduate route will be granted subject to the following conditions:

• any work in the UK (including paid and unpaid, self-employment, engaging in business or any professional activity) is permitted. The only restriction is a prohibition on working as a professional sportsperson or coach;
• study is restricted on this visa and is only permitted on courses that would not meet the requirements for student visa sponsorship. If you are continuing to further study at the Courtauld, or at another institution, and plan to apply for the Graduate visa, you should first check whether it will be possible for you to study on your chosen course under this visa;
• no access to public funds.

The permission granted under the Graduate route, 2 years for undergraduate and Masters students and 3 years for PhD students, will start from when the decision is made on the application.

It is not possible to extend your permission under the Graduate route once granted. From the Graduate route, you would be able to switch to a Skilled Worker visa from within the UK if you are offered a suitable job with an employer who holds a sponsor licence.

It is only possible to be granted permission under the Graduate route once. You cannot apply again, for example, if you were to undertake another course of study.

Whilst an application for the Graduate visa is pending, the working conditions of your student visa will continue to apply.

If your student visa was granted after 6 April 2022, you can  start work full time in a permanent role if you have:

• successfully completed your course; and
• made a Graduate Immigration Route visa application

You should only make your application once Admissions Team has notified UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) that you have successfully completed your degree. This is in accordance with the Graduate route visa policy.  Admissions Team will make this report to UKVI after you have received your final ratified results and after you have forwarded the confirmation email to Admissions Team.  This process is not automatic and Admissions Team will not be able to report your completion to UKVI unless you have forwarded the confirmation email. Admissions Office will confirm to you when the report has been made to UKVI. Do not submit your Graduate visa application until you have received this email. The Courtauld will not be responsible for any delay and rejection caused or losing your eligibility if this process has not been followed. 

You will need to apply in the UK whilst your current Tier 4/Student visa is still valid and cannot travel overseas until you have received the outcome of your application, and your new BRP if applicable (see section below titled eVisa).

If your visa expires after you have applied to the Graduate route, you will be permitted to remain in the UK whilst your application is being considered under the conditions of your Tier 4/Student permission until you have received the outcome of your Graduate visa application.

The visa application fee is £715. In addition, the application will also require you to pay the immigration health surcharge and this is charged at £624 per year the visa will be granted (£1,248 for 2 years and, for PhD students, £1872 for 3 years).

You make an application online.

As part of the process you will need to prove your identity by using a ‘UK Immigration ID Check’ app on your phone to scan your current Tier 4/Student Biometric Residence Permit (BRP) or, if you are an EEA or Swiss national, your biometric passport. You will be given instructions on how to use the app in the application. If you do not own a compatible phone, you can use the app from a friend’s mobile phone as no information is stored on the phone or app after you close it.

If you cannot use the app, you will need to book an in-person appointment for biometric enrolment. This includes students who applied for their current student visa in the UK and it was issued as a digital status with no BRP (this does not apply to EEA and Swiss nationals who can use their passport with the app instead of a BRP).

As part of the application:

• You will need your passport and current Tier4/Student BRP to apply.
• You will need to know the CAS number you used to support your Tier 4/student visa application.
• You will need a letter of consent if you have been financially sponsored for your studies by a Government or international scholarship agency.
• There will be no requirement to provide financial evidence with the application.

The advertised decision timeframe is 8 weeks from when you submit your application.

Please note that once you have made your application, you cannot travel overseas until you have been notified of the decision.

When granted, the visa will be issued as a digital status, also called an eVisa.

The digital status will enable you to prove your right to live and work in the UK online.

Visa nationals (i.e. nationalities who require entry clearance prior to travel to the UK as a visitor) will also be issued a new Biometric Resident Permit (BRP). It is likely this will need to be shown in order to travel to the UK whilst your Graduate visa is valid. Visa nationals are therefore advised to wait to receive the new BRP once the visa has been granted before travelling overseas.

If you cannot use the app as part of the application, and need to enrol your biometrics at an in-person appointment, you will also be issued a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP).

When you set up your UKVI account to apply for this visa you will use your BRP to verify your identity, unless you are an EEA or Swiss national. UKVI advises that once you have received your eVisa, you should sign back into your UKVI account using the information on your BRP but then change the main ‘sign-in’ document to your current passport. This is to ensure you can continue to access your UKVI account easily and should also ensure that you avoid unnecessary delays when travelling in and out of the UK. If you renew your passport, you should sign in and update these details in your UKVI account.

Dependant family members in the UK who already have immigration permission as a Tier 4 or Student dependant can apply for further permission to stay as a dependant under the Graduate route.

Children born in the UK do not need to have been granted a dependant visa under Tier 4 or the Student route but they must have been born in the UK during the student’s most recent Tier 4 or student visa.

Further information about dependant eligibility is outlined on the UKVI website.

Read the information on the UKVI webpages and their Graduate immigration route guide.

If you have any questions about the Graduate route contact Admissions Team.

Immigration rules and policy are subject to change. These webpages are updated as soon as possible following any changes but relevant pages of the Home Office website should be checked for the latest information. Admissions Team can only provide information and advise on current policy; it is not possible to speculate on future immigration changes or developments in relation to post-study visa options.