VISAS

SHORT-TERM STUDY VISA

11 Month Visa

Overview

You can apply for a Short-term study visa to study English language in the UK.

This visa is for English language courses lasting longer than 6 months and up to 11 months.

If your course is different to this, check which visa you need.

How long you can stay

You can stay in the UK for the length of your course plus an extra 30 days as long as your stay is no longer than 11 months.

Fees and costs

It costs £214 for a Short-term study visa.

Healthcare surcharge

You’ll also have to pay the healthcare surcharge as part of your online application. It usually costs £776.

This is so you can use the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK.

Check how much you’ll need to pay before you apply.

What you cannot do

You cannot:

• study on any other course or change your course while in the UK
• study at a state-funded school
• work or carry out any business (this includes paid or unpaid work, work experience or work placements)
• extend this visa
• bring family members (‘dependants’) with you on this visa
• apply for most benefits (public funds) or the State Pension

Who can apply

You must be 16 or older to apply.

You must prove that:

• you’ve been accepted onto an English language course that lasts longer than 6 months and up to 11 months and includes no other subjects
• your course is with an accredited institution
• you have enough money to support yourself without working or help from public funds, or that relatives and friends can support and house you
• you can pay for your return or onward journey

If you’re under 18 you must also:

• have made arrangements for your travel and stay in the UK
• have the consent of your parent or guardian to study in the UK

Your course

Your English language course must be with an ‘accredited institution’.

This can be either:

• an accredited UK institution
• an eligible overseas provider, if you’re studying in the UK as part of an overseas course

Accredited UK institutions

An accredited institution must either have a student sponsor licence or have a valid accreditation and be listed by one of the following:

• Accreditation Service for International Colleges
• Accreditation UK
• British Accreditation Council
• Education and Training Inspectorate (in Northern Ireland)
• Estyn (in Wales)
• Education Scotland
• Independent Schools Inspectorate
• Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted)
• Office for Students
• Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education

Eligible overseas providers

You can also apply for a Short-term study visa if you’re studying at an overseas higher education institution and part of your English language course is in the UK.

Your institution must:

• hold its own national accreditation
• offer no more than half of its educational programme in the UK
• offer programmes that are equivalent to a UK degree

Documents you'll need

When you apply you must provide:

• a current passport (with a blank page for your visa) or other valid travel document
• evidence that you can support yourself during your trip, for example bank statements or payslips for the last 6 months
• details of where you intend to stay and your travel plans - you should not pay for accommodation or travel until you get your visa
• evidence that you’ve paid your course fees or have enough money to pay them

You also need to provide:

• your tuberculosis (TB) test results, if you’re from a country where you have to take the TB test
• contact details for at least one parent or guardian in your home country, if you’re under 18 years old
• a certified translation if any documents are not in English or Welsh

Documents about your course

You must provide written proof of the course you’re studying. For example, a letter of acceptance from the educational institution stating the course’s name, duration and cost (including accommodation).

You may need to provide additional documents depending on your circumstances, such as evidence of your:

• permission to be in the country you’re applying from (if you’re not a national)
• financial sponsor’s occupation, income, savings or funds that will support your studies

If you’re under 18

If you’re under 18 you need to provide additional documents if:

• you’re travelling on your own
• you’re travelling with someone who is not your parent or guardian

Travelling on your own

You can travel to the UK without an adult (someone 18 or older).

You must have written consent from both parents (or one parent if they have sole responsibility) or your legal guardian. This must confirm they consent to:

• your visa application
• your living arrangements and care in the UK
• your travel to the UK

They also need to provide proof that you have somewhere suitable to live during your stay in the UK, including:

• the name and date of birth of the person that you will be staying with
• an address where you will be living
• details of your relationship to the person who’ll be looking after you
• consent in writing so they can look after you during your stay in the UK

Your parent, guardian or school must tell the relevant local authority about your visit if either of the following are true:

• you’re under 18 and have a disability
• you’re going to be looked after for more than 28 days by someone who is not a close relative (called ‘private foster care’)

You should provide a reply from the local authority if you have one.

Travelling with an adult

If you travel to the UK with an adult (someone 18 or older), you need to identify them in your visa application.

Their name will appear on your visa, and you’ll be refused entry to the UK if you arrive in the UK without them.

You can identify up to 2 adults in your visa application, and your visa will only be valid if you travel with at least one of them.

The adult can apply for a visa at the same time, but you must each complete separate applications.

Further details on Short-term student visas

This route is only for students who apply for entry clearance to do an English language course between six and 11 months long. For study of up to six months, you may instead be able to undertake this under the visitor route.

Am I eligible to apply for immigration permission as a short-term student?

You must have immigration permission in this category before you come to the UK (entry clearance). You can apply for entry clearance from any country outside the UK, but you must have permission to be in the country from which you apply. 

•  You must be 16 or older when you apply (which is when you pay the immigration application fee).

• You must be accepted onto an English language course which is at least six months and no longer than 11 months in duration at an accredited provider. An accredited provider is one which: 
  • is a licensed Student sponsor listed on the Student sponsor register; or
  • holds valid accreditation from a Home Office approved accreditation body;
  • holds a valid and satisfactory full institutional inspection from a Home Office approved inspection body; or
  • is an overseas higher education institution which offers only part of its programmes in the UK

Page 11 of the short-term students caseworker guidance also outlines the criteria for  accredited institutions. 

If the course is up to six months, you cannot use this route and should instead check to see if you are eligible to study the course as a visitor.

•  The course must be an English language only (which means it is a course that consists only of English language study and cannot be combined with other subjects). In addition:

• The English language course does not need to lead to a specific qualification.
• There are no minimum academic requirements for immigration purposes, the course can be at any level, but your course provider may have specific admissions criteria.
• You are not required to have a minimum English language ability, but your course provider may have specific admissions criteria.
• There are no minimum hours which you must be studying during your time in the UK. 

This information is for you if you are currently outside the UK and you want to come to study in the UK as a 'short-term student' because either:

• you are not eligible to apply for Student permission; or
• you have chosen not to apply for a Student permission as you meet the requirements for a 'short-term student' visa

This information explains what you need to do to get immigration permission in order to come to study in the UK as a 'short-term student', what you must do if you have it and what to do if you are refused permission. 

If you are granted immigration permission

If you are successful, you will get immigration permission for 11 months. 

You will get a vignette (stamp in your passport) for 90 days, and then when you arrive in the UK you will need to collect your biometric residence permit (BRP) from a post office or from your institution (if they have arranged with the Home Office for the BRPs to be sent to them. You will be given entry clearance showing a 90-day window in which to enter the UK. You will need to follow the instructions on the accompanying letter about how to collect your Biometric Residence Permit. This usually needs to be collected before the date on your vignette expires or within 10 days of arriving in the UK, whichever is later.  

Requirements you must meet while you are in the UK

See 'Applying for entry clearance' for information about the requirements you need to meet when making your immigration application.

While in the UK, you must only study on the course for which you were granted permission.  

You must intend to leave the UK within 30 days of the end of your study (if it is before the date your immigration permission ends). If you do not leave the UK within this time, it could affect any future immigration applications to the UK (such applications could be refused and a time-bar applied if the Home Office believes you exercised deception about your intention in your short-term student immigration application). If your study (as stated in the letter you presented to the Home Office as part of your short-term student immigration application) continues until the date that your immigration permission ends, you must leave the UK no later than the date your immigration permission ends.

The condition to register with the police (known as 'police registration') was given to people of certain nationalities who come to the UK for more than six months. On 5 August 2022, the Home Office announced to UKCISA and other education sector stakeholders that it was abolishing the requirement to register with police with immediate effect. The Immigration Rules were updated to reflect this on 9 November 2022. Any police registration condition imposed before 9 November 2022 ceases to have effect on that date. This includes registration, reporting changes of address and any other related matters.

As a short-term student, you cannot do any kind of work, work placement or work experience during your studies in the UK. In addition, you cannot engage in any business or professional activities in the UK. If you want to be allowed to work in the UK during your studies, you will need to apply to enter the UK as a Student or in another appropriate immigration category instead.

Short-term students are not allowed to apply to switch into any other immigration category while still in the UK, or extend their permission as a short-term student. If you wish to continue studying in the UK after your entitlement to remain in the UK as a short-term student has ended, you will need to return home and apply for entry clearance as a Student, or in another appropriate immigration category. However, there is a requirement that you should not intend to make the UK your main home. Frequent and successive use of this route may suggest that you are.

You have no recourse to 'public funds'.  'Public funds' are defined in paragraph 6 of the Immigration Rules as a list of specific benefits available. When applying for immigration permission to enter the UK, you must provide evidence that there is sufficient money available for your maintenance and accommodation, without having to claim any of these benefits - see applying for entry clearance.

What to do if your application is refused

There is a right to a apply for an administrative review of a refused application under the short-term student route. If you are refused, you will need to decide between one of the following two options:

1. You can apply for an administrative review. You will need to do this within 28 days of the date you are refused and it costs £80. 

If this is successful, you will no longer have refusal on your immigration record, but should declare it on future immigration applications if asked about refusals, explaining it was overturned. The problem with this process is that it could take some time, which could mean you miss the start date of your course.

2. You can apply for immigration permission again, but this will mean that you will have an unchallenged refusal that you must declare if you are asked in future immigration applications.

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