A current passport or travel document. Your passport only needs to be valid for a few months when you apply for your visa as you can renew it at your Embassy in the UK.

Documents to show you have adequate funds available to cover both your tuition fees and living expenses. Read the information on the UKVI website about financial evidence. For universities outside London (including Manchester), you will need to show the following:

• Course fees for a maximum of one year of your course (as stated on your CAS)
• Living expenses (maintenance) of £1023 for each month of the course, up to a maximum of 9 months (£9207). If your course includes part of a month you will need to include that month in your calculations.

If you use a parent's bank account you must submit additional evidence consisting of a letter of consent from your parent and a copy of your birth certificate (along with a translation if your birth certificate is not in English).

You must read our financial evidence document for information on financial evidence to ensure that your documents will be accepted. This includes more information about what you need to submit in different circumstances.

Previous financial sponsorship

If you have previously studied in the UK and have been fully sponsored for both fees and maintenance by a government or scholarship agency, and have received money from them within the last 12 months, then you need to provide an additional letter of consent from your sponsor. The letter must confirm that they give you unconditional consent to remain in and re-enter the UK for the duration of your course. This letter is required if you have been fully sponsored within the last 12 months even if you are not financially sponsored by them any longer.

If the course you are applying for is at degree level or above, you should not need to provide evidence of the qualification(s) listed on your CAS as the basis of your course offer. The Home Office relies on Higher Education Providers with a track record of compliance like The University of Manchester to assess applicants’ academic ability.

Nationals of some countries do not need to provide evidence of their qualifications or their money when they apply for a Student visa. UKVI call this the "differentiation agreement".

The full list of nationalities covered by this arrangement are listed on the UKVI website. If you are a national of one of the countries listed, your application should be subject to different documentary documents and you should not need to submit academic or financial evidence as part of your initial application submission as a result. If you hold a passport for more than one country, you can benefit from this arrangement as long as one of your nationalities is included on the list.

It is very important that you still obtain evidence of your finances even though you do not need to initially submit them. This is because UKVI can still request this evidence as part of their decision process and your application could be refused if you are not able to provide the specified documents within the specified timeframe.

You will also still need to provide any other required documents, such as ATAS or a TB certificate.

If any of the documents you need to submit are not in English then they must be accompanied by a fully certified translation.

Please refer to our translation guide to ensure your translation meets the necessary requirements.

You need to check on the UKVI website if you need to apply for a TB test certificate based on where you are applying from and any countries you have recently visited. UKVI's guidance includes details on how to get your TB test certificate from an approved clinic in each country.

Some students who intend to study in certain science or technology-based subjects are required to obtain a clearance certificate from the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) before they can apply for a visa or a visa extension nless they are otherwise exempt. If this applies to you, the academic details you need to apply for ATAS will be sent to you by your department or school. For applicants applying to start a new course, this information should be included in your offer letter.

ATAS applications are free of charge and can be made up to six months before the start date of your course. Applications take at least 30 working days to be processed and can take even longer during peak periods so are strongly advised to apply as early as you can to be sure you obtain clearance in time to apply for your Student visa. 

See our ATAS application guide to help you complete the online form

If you are under 18 when you make your application you need to include a letter of consent from your parent(s)/legal guardian(s) and evidence of your relationship. These documents must meet specific requirements to be accepted by UKVI and you must provide both documents.

Please refer to our guide for under 18-year-olds for more information and a template consent letter.