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Guidance and links on how to apply for a CAS from the University of Kent
A CAS issued by the University of Kent can only be used to study at the University of Kent. If you apply for a Student visa route visa using a CAS from another university, you will not be able to use the visa to study on a programme at Kent. See FAQ's.
Guide to applying for your student visa:
- Step 1: Apply to your chosen university and receive an unconditional offer.
- Step 2: Once you have received your unconditional offer, and you have accepted it, your university will give you a document called a Certificate of Acceptance of Studies (or CAS).
- Step 3: Once you have your CAS, you can begin the visa application process. You can apply for your visa up to six months before your course starts. You will need to pay an application fee and have a current passport. European students: If you’re from an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, you can use the UK Immigration: ID Check app on a smartphone to complete the identity stage of your application.
- Step 4: As part of your application, you will need to pay a fee called an Immigration Health Surcharge. This gives you access to the UK’s National Health Service. European students: If you have an European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), you may be able to apply for a refund of the cost of the Immigration Health Surcharge. Check the GOV.UK website to find out if you are eligible to apply for a refund.
- Step 5: As part of your student visa application, you may need to prove your knowledge of the English language. Different universities have different requirements, so make sure you check what form of English language evidence you will need with your university.
- Step 6: You will need to complete your application and have it accepted before you arrive in the UK.
The Student Immigration Compliance Team is responsible for issuing a CAS to current and eligible students.
When do I have to apply for a CAS?
- If your BRP expires before your course completion date. Please note, that there may be restrictions on whether you can apply in or out of the UK, and you should contat the Student Immigration Compliance team for clarification: visacompliance@kent.ac.uk
- If you are returning from intermission and your previous Student visa route sponsorship was withdrawn and therefore no longer valid for travel, you will require a CAS to apply for a new Student visa to return to the UK to study. Please note that if your intermission was due to medical reasons then you must provide a note from your doctor to your school/division confirming that you are fit to return to your studies.
What to do next?
In order to request a new CAS, you must follow the process outlined below.
- Complete a CAS Application form, complete the CAS checklist and sign the declaration
- Complete and sign the Terms and Conditions of Student sponsorship document
- Gather financial documents which comply with all the requirements set out in the Financial Guidance Document on our website.Information on how evidence of funds can be demonstrated can be found in Appendix Finance and the level of funds which an applicant must demonstrate can be found in Appendix Student ST 12.
- Email scanned copy of CAS application form, signed Terms and Conditions document and all required supporting document to visacompliance@kent.ac.uk
We strongly recommend that you seek advice from Kent Union Advice Centre (Canterbury) or GK Unions (Medway) as they can offer free immigration advice to all University of Kent students.
Financial Checks:
If you have been in the UK for 12 months, you may not need to show supporting financial evidence.
If youhave not been in the UK for 12 months or if you are applying form overseas, we will require financial evidence from you.
If it is required, please ensure that:
- You send your financial documents/evidence in a separate email from the application form in order for us to securely store them in your case file.
- All your financial documents meet all the requirements set out in the Financial Guidance Document and Appendix Finance of the Immigration Rules. This includes funds being held for a consecutive 28 days within 31 days of the application, the documents should be stamped if necessary and meet all the format requirements. The amount you need to show will be: any unpaid tuition fees, maintenance and a surplus if you are presenting documents not in GBP currency. Additional documents will be needed if you are presenting documents in your parent's or legal guardian's accounts.
We will not consider your application until we are in possession of ALL required and correct documents/evidence. Failure to provide the correct information and in the right format will lead to delays in assessing your CAS application.
Fee Payments to the University:
Your CAS will be produced on the basis of your financial status at the time you request it and will state any tuition and accommodation fees you still need to pay for the relevant academic year. If we issue you with a CAS and you then make further payments before you have applied for your visa, the financial information on the CAS will no longer be valid.
If you intend to make any fee payments, please do so before applying for your CAS or contact visacompliance@kent.ac.uk as soon as possible so that your CAS can be updated accordingly.
New students starting a new course - Applicants
Our Admissions Team is responsible for issuing CASs to students starting a new course at the University. This includes both new students to Kent and existing students who are starting a new course.
STEP 1: Apply to University of Kent for your (new) course
You should apply for your course early enough to take into account that the University's CAS Team will issue your CAS no more than 3 months prior to your course start date. You must accept our offer officially and meet all outstanding conditions of your offer.
STEP 2: CAS Team reviews application
The CAS team will conduct a review of your file and request any missing information after your offer has become unconditional. This may include contacting you to conduct an immigration history and/or financial check.
Financial Checks:
- Why? UKVI impose specific financial requirements for Student visa route visa applicants and this is a good chance for us to identify upfront that your financial documents are appropriate for obtaining a successful Student visa route visa.
- When? We will notify you if you need to provide us with financial documents when we assess you for a CAS. If we request any information from you it is important that you supply the appropriate documents as quickly as possible to allow us time to review your documents. Any delay at this stage may cause a delay in the issue of your CAS.
- Data Protection: The financial documentation you provide to us is stored securely, never passed on to anyone outside the University and is only used for the purposes of conducting the financial document check for assessing you for a CAS.
Fee Payments to the University:
If you have made payments to the University of Kent towards your tuition fees and/or University accommodation this should be recorded on your CAS and show on your CAS statement.
- You can pay your tuition and accommodation fees before you apply for a visa.
- Once the University's Income Office has confirmed receipt of your payment the Admissions Team will update your CAS to show you have paid your fees. Please note that some payments, particularly bank transfers, can take 3-5 working days to be processed and received by the University. In busy periods, such as the summer, this can take longer.
- Once your CAS has been updated we will contact you via your Kent Portal.
- If you make payments after we have issued your CAS, or think the amount shown is incorrect, you can request that your CAS is updated by contacting the team that issued it.
The Finance site has more information on how to make a payment. If you would like a record of your fee payments included in your CAS please submit the online form.
If you wish to receive advice about your financial documents and how they may or may not comply with UKVI guidance you should send these documents and an explanation of your situation to the Kent Union Advice Centre (Canterbury Campus), or GK Union Advice Centre (Medway campus).
STEP 3: Pre-CAS
The University will issue you with an electronic ‘pre-CAS’ document before issuing you with a formal CAS number. The pre-CAS will be sent to you via your student portal on KentVision, our application system. The pre-CAS is a draft version of the CAS. You must carefully check the details are all correct and approve the pre-CAS before we will issue your actual CAS. We will only issue you with a pre-CAS once we are satisfied you meet the conditions of our Student visa route Sponsorship and CAS Issuing Policy.
You must approve the pre-CAS and approve the University’s terms and conditions of Student visa route sponsorship.
STEP 4: CAS Issued
The CAS team will then issue you with your CAS number.
Your CAS can only be used for the visa application to study the course you applied for at the University of Kent. If you do not take up your place your CAS will be withdrawn (cancelled). If you decide to change courses before you apply for your visa then you will require a new CAS.