UK Student Visa From India

Most Indian nationals aged 16 or over on a full time further or higher education course need a Student visa. UK Visas and Immigration, part of the Home Office, decides applications. You normally need to:

• Be aged 16 or over and hold a valid passport.
• Hold an unconditional offer from a licensed student sponsor.
• Have a valid CAS reference number.
• Have enough money for outstanding tuition and living costs.
• Meet the English language level.
• Get a TB certificate and an ATAS certificate where required.
• Provide parental consent if you are 16 or 17, and satisfy the genuine student test.

An offer does not prove the institution can sponsor you. Run two checks before you pay a deposit.

Check one, the sponsor licence

• The institution must appear on the UKVI Register of Licensed Student Sponsors.
• Search the exact legal name. A public brand can differ from the legal sponsor name.
• Recheck the register before you pay and again before you apply. If it is not listed, it cannot issue a valid CAS.

Check two, recognised qualification

• Confirm the university has recognised degree awarding powers, or the course is awarded by a recognised university.
• Use the GOV.UK recognised degree checker, and the Office for Students Register for England.

Each university sets its own entry requirements. You may be asked for:

Undergraduate

• Class 10 and Class 12 certificates and marks sheets.
• CBSE, CISCE, state board, IB, or A level results.
• English evidence, a personal statement, references, and a portfolio where relevant.

Postgraduate

• Bachelor's certificate, full transcripts, and grading scale information.
• English evidence, a CV, a statement of purpose, and references.
• A research proposal for an MPhil or PhD, and employment evidence where required.

The CAS is an electronic sponsorship record from your university. It is not an offer letter. The university normally issues it after you accept the offer, pay any deposit, submit final documents, meet the English condition, and clear any pre CAS checks. It records:

• The CAS reference number, the sponsor legal name, and licence details.
• Your passport details, the course title, level, and start and end dates.
• First year tuition, any tuition paid, and permitted accommodation payments.
• The qualifications used to assess you, how English was assessed, and whether ATAS is required.

India is not on the UKVI list of majority English speaking countries, so you must normally prove English through an accepted route. The level is CEFR B2 for degree study or above, and B1 below degree level. You can show English through:

• An eligible UK school qualification.
• A UK degree taught in English.
• An overseas degree that Ecctis assesses as equal to a UK bachelor's or higher and taught in English.
• An approved Secure English Language Test.
• Assessment by an eligible UK higher education provider for degree study, still at B2.

India is not on the differential evidence list, so expect to submit full financial evidence. You normally show enough money for two things.

• Any unpaid first year tuition, as shown on the CAS.
• Living costs for up to nine months. £1,529 per month in London, or £1,171 per month outside London.

That gives a maximum maintenance figure of £13,761 in London or £10,539 outside London, on top of unpaid tuition.

Worked example, outside London

First year tuition £20,000 with £6,000 paid leaves £14,000 unpaid. You show £14,000 plus £10,539, which is £24,539.

Worked example, London

The same £14,000 unpaid plus £13,761 comes to £27,761. Always use the tuition on your CAS, not an estimate.

• Personal or parental funds must be held for at least 28 consecutive days.
• The end of that period must be no more than 31 days before you apply online.
• The balance must not drop below the required amount at any point in the 28 days. Even a one day dip can fail the requirement.
• The account must allow immediate access, sit with a regulated institution, and use electronic records.

UKVI does not accept

• Cryptocurrency, shares, mutual funds not treated as accessible cash, pensions, or overdrafts.
• Credit card limits, property valuations, gold or jewellery, or unregulated institutions.

Using a parent's account

• The parent's qualifying bank evidence.
• Your birth certificate or other proof of the relationship.
• A signed and dated parental consent letter confirming the funds are available for your fees and living costs.
• Where names differ across documents, add evidence explaining the difference.

Education loan

• From a government, a government backed loan body, or a regulated academic loan scheme.
• The letter must be dated no more than six months before you apply, name you, state the amount, identify the regulated lender, and confirm the funds are available before travel or paid to the institution.
• A personal, secured, or family loan does not automatically qualify.

Official sponsorship

• From a government, the Government of India or a state government, the British Council, an international organisation or company, a university, or a school.
• Where it is not fully on the CAS, provide a sponsorship letter with the amount, period, coverage, and conditions.

• You normally need a TB test when your stay is over six months and you have lived in India for at least six months.
• Use only a clinic on the UK Home Office approved list. A certificate from an unapproved centre is not accepted.
• Approved facilities sit across cities including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Pune.
• The certificate is generally valid for six months from the chest X ray date. It must still be valid when you apply.

Take to your appointment

• Original passport and a copy, passport photos, and the test fee.
• Your UK address or university details, and previous TB or medical records.

Some students on sensitive postgraduate subjects need an Academic Technology Approval Scheme certificate. It mainly applies to areas such as aerospace, chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineering, materials science, physics, nuclear science, chemistry, biotechnology, and certain AI and computing subjects.

• The university tells you whether ATAS is required and gives the course or research code.
• ATAS is free, but processing can take several weeks and longer in busy periods.
• Apply early and obtain it before you submit the visa application.

Two documents are needed in all normal cases, a valid passport and a CAS. The rest depends on your circumstances.

• Financial evidence meeting the 28 day rule.
• A valid TB certificate, and an ATAS certificate where required.
• English evidence where required.
• Degree and school certificates and transcripts referenced on the CAS, plus tuition payment evidence.
• A student loan or sponsorship letter where relevant.
• Birth certificate and parental consent for parental funds, and consent for applicants aged 16 or 17.

Certified translations

Any document not in English or Welsh needs a full certified translation showing it is accurate, the date, the translator's name, signature, and contact details, and their credentials. This covers documents in Hindi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Urdu, or any other Indian language. Submit the original and the translation.

• Apply through the official GOV.UK Student visa service. The earliest you can apply from outside the UK is six months before your course starts.
• Pay the £558 visa fee, about ₹74,189 through the India fee checker, and confirm the current rupee amount before you pay.
• Pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.
• Book a biometric appointment at a UK Visa Application Centre after you submit. Use only the link the GOV.UK application generates and match your GWF number.
• Upload documents through the centre provider's portal, or pay for scanning at the centre. Keep files clear and consistent with the form and CAS.
• Attend a credibility interview if UKVI requests one.

A CAS does not guarantee approval. UKVI must be satisfied you are a genuine student. You may be asked about:

• Why you chose the UK, this university, and this course.
• Course modules, duration, and assessment, and how the course links to your past study.
• Your reason for changing subject, and other institutions you considered.
• Tuition and living costs, and the source of your funds, including a parent's income or business and any loan.
• Accommodation, study or work gaps, relatives in the UK, and previous refusals.
• Your career plan and intention after the course.

The rules on bringing a partner or children are restricted. You can generally bring dependants only where you are:

• Government sponsored on a course over six months, or
• On an eligible full time postgraduate research degree of at least nine months, such as a PhD or doctorate.

For courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, most taught master's students, including MA, MSc, and MBA, cannot bring dependants.

Dependant maintenance

• £845 per month for up to nine months in London, a maximum of £7,605 per dependant.
• £680 per month for up to nine months outside London, a maximum of £6,120 per dependant.
• These funds are on top of your own, held for 28 days, and evidenced within 31 days.

Work permission depends on your sponsor, course level, term time or vacation, and the conditions on your eVisa.

• On an eligible full time degree course with a qualifying provider, you may work up to 20 hours per week in term time and full time in official vacations.
• Some below degree courses limit you to 10 hours per week or no work.

You generally cannot

• Be self employed or run a business.
• Work as a professional sportsperson, coach, or entertainer.
• Take a permanent full time role, except in limited cases, or claim public funds.