Travelling to the UK

Your course start date is the date given on your CAS. If you are doing a course that is six months or longer, or for a pre-sessional course that is less than six months, you will be able to come to the UK up to one month before the start date of your course. If you are doing a course that is less than six months in length (and is not a pre-sessional), you will be able to travel seven days before your course start date.

If you are studying a course longer than 6 months and you did not apply using the UK Immigration: ID Check app then you will no longer be issued with a 90 day entry vignette (sticker) in your passport. 

If you cannot travel to the UK before the latest acceptance date on your CAS you may need to defer the start of your course. If your arrival in the UK is delayed, you must contact the admissions team in your department or school to ask them if they can extend your latest arrival date. If you cannot arrive in the UK before this date then you may not be permitted to start your course.

Digital Student visa status

All student visa holders will be issued with a digital visa status known as an eVisa. Dependants will still receive a 90 day vignette in their passport which they can use to enter the UK as well as a digital visa status for which they must set up a UKVI account to access.

Before travelling to the UK, applicants should create a UKVI account, link their current passport, and access their eVisa straightaway to check that all details are correct. Any incorrect information that cannot be updated by the eVisa holder must be reported using this online form Applicants should also understand how to generate and use an eVisa share code. More information can found on the UKVI website.

This means you can only travel to the UK during the validity dates of your visa as you will not receive a vignette visa in your passport. You must ensure that you have your decision letter email from UKVI available in your phone or printed out when you travel to the UK as evidence of your digital immigration status which you can access through your UKVI account. As soon as you receive a decision on your Student visa application you need to check that you have been granted the correct length of visa (i.e. course end date plus 4 months if your course is longer than 12 months, course end date plus 2 months if your course is less than 12 months) and contact us know if there are any errors with your visa.

You will need to obtain a share code from the UKVI website and upload it as part of the Right to Study process along with your boarding pass and passport as evidence of the date that you entered the UK. Once we have obtained your share code we can verify your immigration status online and update your student record with your visa information and only then can you register for your course. 

Important: You must not travel to the UK until your Student visa has been issued. If you travel to the UK before a decision is made on your Student visa application you will be entering the UK as a visitor and you are not permitted to study with Visitor visa status