Applying

This page explains what you must do if you want to come to the UK to study here for up to six months as a student visitor.

Depending on your nationality, you may need to apply for permission to come to the UK as a student visitor (known as a 'visa' or 'entry clearance') before you travel here. You can find out whether you need a visa by using the 'Do I need a UK visa?' questionnaire on our Visa services website.

If you need to obtain a visa before you travel

If you need a visa, you are known as a 'visa national'. The 'How to apply' section of our Visa services website can tell you which visa application form you need to use, and describes the documents that you should provide when you apply for your visa.

If you do not need to obtain a visa before you travel

If you are a 'non-visa national', you will not normally need a visa to come to the UK as a student visitor - but you may want to consider applying for entry clearance if you have previously been refused entry to the UK.

When you travel here, you should bring some documents to show the immigration officer at the UK border. These documents include:

• if you are employed, a letter from your employer granting leave of absence from your job for a specified period - the letter should also say how long you have been employed by that employer, in what job(s), and when you are expected back at work;
• if you are self-employed, evidence of your business activities and financial standing;
• evidence of any property you own in your home country;
• evidence that you have been accepted or enrolled a course of study that will be provided by an organisation described in the Eligibility section (for example, a letter from the school, college or university where you will be studying);
• evidence of any family or social ties and responsibilities to return to;
• evidence of any firm travel plans you have made;
• bank statements going back over a period of several months; and
• evidence of savings available to you.