All non-EU/EEA/Swiss nationals will require a Student visa to study at the University unless they already hold valid leave in the UK. The Admissions Office assists around 1,500 students every academic year to obtain their visa.
If you already hold permission to study in the UK, you will need to declare this as part of your application or when requested by the Admissions Team.
To apply for a Student visa, you must have received a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) number from the Admissions Office. The CAS is a unique 14-digit code which is sent to the student once they hold an unconditional offer from the University and have completed all CAS checks. The CAS signifies that a student has met all of the University's academic and immigration conditions and has a place to study at Kent.
Before receiving a CAS, you will be asked for a number of additional pieces of information which may include your passport, previous UK visas and financial information. Once you have completed this assessment, you will be asked to confirm the details on the pre-CAS via your Kent Portal. Once approved, a CAS number will typically be assigned within one working day and you will be notified of this number via your Portal. This will enable you to apply for your Student visa.
CAS numbers will be assigned no more than three months before the course start date.
Update your CAS to include fee payments
You can pay your tuition and accommodation fees before you apply for your visa. Find out how to make a payment
If you would like a record of your fee payments included in your CAS, please complete and submit the online form
A maximum of £1,265 can be shown on the CAS for payments towards accommodation fees.
Once the Income Office has confirmed receipt of your payment, the Admissions Office will update your CAS to show you have paid your fees.
Please note that:
- some payments, particularly bank transfers, can take up to 10 working days to be processed and received by the University. In busy periods such as the summer this can take longer, so early payment is recommended.
- we can only show the money actually received, as bank transfer charges may apply.
Once your CAS has been updated we will contact you via your Kent Portal.