© University of Kent - Contact | Feedback | Legal | FOI | Cookies
How to apply for a CAS
A CAS issued by the University of Kent can only be used to study at the University of Kent. If you apply for a Tier 4 (General) visa using a CAS from another university, you will not be able to use the visa to study on a programme at Kent.
Students Starting a New Course
Our Admissions Team is responsible for issuing CAS's 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 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:
The University checks financial documents for many of its applicants to satisfy ourselves your documents are in order to make a successful visa application. While visa refusals are rare, in our experience the majority of visa refusals are due to students providing inappropriate financial documents with their visa application. UKVI impose specific financial requirements for Tier 4 (General) visa applicants and this is a good chance for us to identify upfront that your financial documents are appropriate for obtaining a successful Tier 4 visa. 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. 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. 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, or GK Union Advice Centre if your course is based at our Medway campus.
Fee Payments to the University:
You can pay your tuition and accommodation fees before you apply for a visa. The Finance site has more information on how to make a payment. 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.
If you would like a record of your fee payments included in your CAS please submit the online form.
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.
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 Tier 4 Sponsorship and CAS Issuing Policy.
You must approve the pre-CAS and approve the University’s terms and conditions of Tier 4 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. o If you do not take up your place your CAS will be withdrawn (cancelled). o If you decide to change courses before you apply for your visa then you will require a new CAS.