Student visa form step by step — field by field (2026)

When to apply

• Not earlier than 6 months before your course starts (if you apply from outside the UK)
• Not earlier than 3 months before your course starts (if you apply inside the UK — extension or switch)
• At least 6-8 weeks before your course starts — standard processing time
• Priority service (5 working days): +£500. Super Priority (1 working day): +£1,000

Documents — full list

Prepare everything before you start the application. Scan in PDF, in English (or with a certified translation).

• Passport — valid, with a blank page for the visa
• CAS letter from your university (14-digit number + confirming PDF)
• Financial proof — bank statement for the last 28 days
• Proof of English — IELTS/TOEFL/PTE (if your CAS does not say that the university assessed you)
• School certificate + diploma (if you have previous education) — usually the originals from your CAS are enough
• TB test certificate — required for citizens of most CIS countries
• ATAS certificate — for STEM postgraduate courses (Master's and PhD in physics, chemistry, engineering, etc.)
• Parental consent — if you are under 18
• Letter from sponsor + their bank statements — if the money is in someone else's account
• Written translation of all Russian documents from a certified translator

Financial requirements — the most common reason for refusal

You must show that you have money for: course fees (year 1) + living costs for 9 months.

Important: from autumn 2025 the Home Office increased these amounts (old amounts £1,334/£1,023 are outdated). Check on gov.uk before you apply.

• Period: the money must be in your account for at least 28 days in a row without going below the required amount. Any drop below the required amount during this period resets the counter
• Freshness: the bank statement must be no older than 31 days on the day you apply
• Whose account: your own, or your parent's/sponsor's (you need a letter of consent + birth certificate to prove the relationship)
• Which bank: any bank that the Home Office accepts. Russian banks may cause questions — if possible, keep the money in Wise / a bank in a CIS country not under sanctions / a UK bank
• Currency: any currency is fine. The Home Office converts it using the OANDA exchange rate on the day you apply
• If you paid a deposit for the course: the deposit amount is subtracted from the required amount
• If you paid for accommodation in university halls: up to £2,300 is subtracted from the required amount

Step 1 — Start application on gov.uk

1. Go to gov.uk/student-visa → "Apply now". Create a UKVI account with email + password (do not confuse with UCAS)
2. Visa type: "Student visa" (not "Child Student" — that is for ages 4-17)
3. Where you apply: the country where you live
4. Form language: only English — no translations
5. Save your application reference — a long number. You will need it for all the next steps and for biometrics

Step 2 — Personal details

• Name: exactly as in your passport, in Latin letters. Not "Alexandr" if your passport says "Aleksandr"
• Date of birth: format DD/MM/YYYY (UK format)
• Gender: as in your passport
• Nationality: your current nationality. If you have dual nationality, put the main one first, the second one below
• Passport: number, date of issue, date of expiry. It must be valid for at least the length of your course
• Previous names: if you changed your surname (after marriage), put it here
• NI number: if you have been in the UK before and got one, put it here. If not, leave it empty

Step 3 — Contact details and address

• Email: one you actually check. The decision letter will come here
• Phone: with international code, your real number (UKVI may call you)
• Current address: where you live now, in English (for example "Astana, Kazakhstan, Mangilik El street 12")
• Address in the UK: if you already know it (halls confirmed) — put it here. If not, put your university's address
• How many years at your current address: if less than 2, also put your previous address

Step 4 — Parents

Just standard information about both parents. Do not worry about questions like "mother's nationality at the time of your birth" — UKVI asks this to check if you could have British citizenship by descent (most Russian speakers do not, so answer honestly).

• First name and surname of each parent in Latin letters
• Date of birth of each parent
• Nationality at the time of your birth and now
• If a parent has died — put that information. In most cases you do not need a certificate

Step 5 — Travel history

This section is often answered "dishonestly" — and UKVI catches it. Tell the truth.

• Have you been to the UK before? All trips in the last 10 years (or as many as you remember). Tourist visas also count
• Have you been to EU/EEA/Switzerland? In the last 10 years — all countries
• Have you been to US/Canada/Australia/NZ? In the last 10 years
• Visa refusals in any country — you must put them. Hiding them = automatic refusal + 10-year ban
• Deportations/removal — you must put them
• Overstay in any country — you must put it

Step 6 — Course and CAS

• CAS reference number — 14 digits, from your CAS letter
• Course name — exactly as in your CAS
• Course level: Bachelor's / Master's / PhD / Pre-sessional / Foundation
• Start and end dates — from your CAS
• University name — exactly as in your CAS
• Sponsor licence number of the university — usually it is filled in automatically from your CAS
• Course fees: total (year 1) and how much you have already paid
• Accommodation: how much you have already paid to the university for halls (if applicable)

The Home Office checks all these fields against the CAS database. Any difference = delay or refusal. Check letter by letter.

Step 7 — Finances

• Who pays for the course: yourself / parents / sponsor / scholarship
• Where the money is: bank name, account type (savings / current), currency, amount
• Whose account: yours / parent's / sponsor's
• If it is a parent — you need: their consent to use the money + birth certificate to prove the relationship (with certified translation)
• If it is a scholarship — a letter from the sponsor with the amount and duration
• Bank statement upload: PDF with the bank's stamp, covering the last 28+ days, showing a daily balance not below the required amount

Step 8 — English language

• If your CAS says "assessed by university" — you can skip this section. The university has already confirmed your English
• If you need a SELT (Secure English Language Test) — UKVI only accepts: IELTS for UKVI, Pearson PTE Academic UKVI, LanguageCert Academic, Trinity ISE
• Normal IELTS Academic is fine for most universities, but NOT for UKVI directly — you need either an assessment from the university or the special "UKVI" version of the test
• Minimum CEFR B2 for Bachelor's/Master's, B1 for pre-sessional

Step 9 — TB (Tuberculosis) test

If you are a citizen of Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia — you MUST take a TB test before you apply.

• Only at Home Office-approved clinics — list on gov.uk/tb-test-visa. In Russia: only Moscow and St Petersburg, IOM. In Kazakhstan: Almaty and Astana, IOM. In Ukraine: Kyiv, IOM
• Cost: $50-150 depending on the country
• Valid for: 6 months from the date you get the certificate
• What it includes: chest X-ray. If there is any suspicion, you will need more tests
• If you have had TB: you need treatment and a negative result, otherwise you will not get the visa
• If you are pregnant: the X-ray is postponed until after the birth, but this stops the application — plan ahead

Step 10 — ATAS clearance (for STEM postgraduate)

ATAS (Academic Technology Approval Scheme) is a security clearance for postgraduate courses in sensitive areas: nuclear physics, biotechnology, materials science, aerospace, chemistry, cryptography, and others.

• Applies to: Master's, PhD, research positions in STEM. Full list of JACS codes — on gov.uk/guidance/academic-technology-approval-scheme
• Bachelor's — usually does not need ATAS
• Application: online, free, takes 4-8 weeks
• Before you apply for a Student visa — without an ATAS certificate you will not get the visa
• Citizens of Russia / Belarus: since 2022 ATAS has become much stricter for them — some courses are effectively closed. Prepare for extra checks and a long wait (up to 6 months)

Step 11 — Payment, biometrics, sending documents

1. Pay application fee + IHS by card. Russian cards do not work — you need an international card or Wise. IHS is paid in one amount for the whole course (£776 × years)
2. Book biometrics at a Visa Application Centre (VAC). In Russia: TLScontact in Moscow, St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Rostov, Kazan. In KZ/UA/UZ: VFS Global / TLScontact
3. Alternative: the "UK Immigration: ID Check" app lets some citizens do biometrics without visiting a VAC, using a smartphone. Russian / Ukrainian / Kazakh citizens usually do NOT have access — you need to visit a VAC
4. At biometrics: fingerprints, photo, passport check. About 30 minutes. Bring all the documents you uploaded in the form — the VAC may ask for originals
5. Sending documents to the Sheffield decision-making centre — the VAC will send them, you do not need to do anything
6. Decision time: 3 weeks (standard), 5 working days (priority +£500), 1 day (super priority +£1,000)

After you apply

• Email with the decision arrives in about 3 weeks (or sooner). UKVI does not call or send SMS — only email
• If approved: a visa vignette (sticker) valid for 90 days is put in your passport. You must enter the UK during this period
• BRP (Biometric Residence Permit) — you collect it in the UK within 10 days after you arrive, at the post office shown in the decision letter
• From 2025 BRP is replaced by eVisa for most new applicants — no physical document, everything in your UKVI account
• If refused: the letter will tell you the reason and your right to an administrative review (if there was a procedural mistake) or to re-apply

Top 10 reasons for refusal for Russian-speaking students

1. Money less than 28 days — the money arrived in the account 2 weeks before you applied. The most common reason
2. Bank statement without a stamp — a screenshot from an app is not enough. You need an official statement with the bank's stamp
3. Hiding visa refusals in other countries — the Five Eyes database catches it immediately
4. Mismatch between the form and CAS — a letter in the name, start date, course name
5. TB test expired or from a non-approved clinic
6. "Genuine student" doubts — UKVI thinks you are actually coming to work, not to study. Defence: a clear study plan, connection to your previous education, return ties
7. Spouse / dependants applied together with a Bachelor's — since 2024 dependants are only for PhD and research Master's. Bachelor's and taught Master's — not allowed
8. ATAS missing for STEM postgraduate courses
9. Mistakes in document translation — a cheap translator missed a field, the data does not match
10. Sponsor account without a letter of consent and birth certificate

Frequently asked questions