UK Student Visa From Pakistan

Most Pakistani nationals aged 16 or over who want to study a further or higher education course need a Student visa. It replaced the old Tier 4 route. UK Visas and Immigration, part of the Home Office, decides applications. To qualify you normally must:

• Be aged 16 or over.
• Hold an unconditional offer from a licensed student sponsor.
• Receive a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, the CAS.
• Have enough money for tuition and living costs.
• Meet the English language standard.
• Have parental consent if you are 16 or 17.
• Satisfy the genuine student requirement.
• Complete a TB test where required, and get an ATAS certificate where your subject needs one.

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 trading name, agent name, or campus brand can differ.
• If it is not on the register, it cannot issue a valid CAS.

Check two, recognised qualification

• Confirm the institution has 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:

• Matriculation or SSC records, and Intermediate, HSSC, or A level results.
• Bachelor's documents, transcripts, and detailed marks sheets for postgraduate entry.
• English language test results.
• A personal statement, references, and a CV for postgraduate or research study.
• A research proposal for some MPhil or PhD programmes.
• A portfolio for creative courses, and work experience where required.

The CAS is an electronic sponsorship record from your university. It is not just an offer letter. It normally includes:

• A unique CAS reference number, and the sponsor name and licence details.
• Your personal details, the course title, level, and start and end dates.
• Total tuition and any tuition already paid, plus permitted accommodation payments.
• The qualifications used to assess you, and how English was assessed.
• ATAS information where it applies.

• You must read, write, speak, and understand English.
• The level is CEFR B2 for degree study or above, and B1 for study below degree level.
• A licensed higher education provider can assess your English itself for a degree course and record it on the CAS.
• Where a Secure English Language Test is required, take it at a UKVI approved provider and centre.

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.

• Personal or parental funds must be held for at least 28 consecutive days.
• The financial evidence must be dated no more than 31 days before you apply online.
• The account must allow immediate access, be held with a regulated institution, and use electronic records.
• The balance must not drop below the required amount at any point in the 28 days.

UKVI does not accept

• Cryptocurrency, stocks and shares, pensions, or overdrafts.
• Accounts without immediate access, or with unregulated institutions.

Using a parent's account

• The parent's qualifying bank evidence.
• Your birth certificate or other proof of the relationship.
• A signed letter from the parent giving permission to use the money.

• A student loan counts where it comes from a government, a government backed loan body, or a regulated academic loan scheme.
• The loan letter must confirm the amount, your identity, and when the funds become available.
• Official sponsorship can come from a government, the British Council, an international organisation or company, a university, or a school.
• Where the sponsorship is not fully recorded on the CAS, provide a compliant sponsorship letter.

• A Pakistani resident applying to come for six months or more normally needs a TB test.
• Use only a clinic on the UK Home Office approved list. A certificate from an unapproved clinic is not accepted.
• Approved services currently sit in cities including Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, and Mirpur.

Take to your appointment

• Your original passport or accepted photo ID, plus copies.
• Recent passport photos where requested, and the test fee.
• Relevant previous TB or medical records, and your UK address if you have it.

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

• The university identifies the course code and states on the offer or CAS whether ATAS is required.
• ATAS is free, but processing takes several weeks.
• 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.
• Academic certificates and transcripts referenced on the CAS, plus tuition payment evidence.
• A student loan or sponsorship letter where relevant.
• Birth certificate and parental consent if you are under 18, and proof of relationship where parental funds are used.

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 where relevant. Submit both the original Urdu document 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 and the Immigration Health Surcharge.
• Book a biometric appointment at a UK Visa Application Centre after you submit the online form. Some biometric passport holders can verify identity with the UK Immigration ID Check app instead.
• Upload or scan your supporting documents. Keep them 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.
• The modules, and how the course links to your past study and future career.
• Why you did not choose a similar course in Pakistan, and how you compared universities.
• Tuition and living costs, and the source of your funds.
• Accommodation, immigration history, study or work gaps, English ability, and relatives in the UK.
• Your plans after the course.

The rules on bringing a partner or children are now 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.

For courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, most taught master's students cannot bring dependants. Each dependant applies separately, pays the visa fee and health surcharge, and meets the relationship and financial rules.

A Student visa can permit limited work, set by your course level, your sponsor's status, term time or vacation, and the conditions on your permission.

• You may be allowed up to 20 hours per week in term time on an eligible full time degree course.
• Below degree courses can carry stricter limits.

You generally cannot

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