What is a confirmation of acceptance for studies?

A confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is a reference number that a licensed UK student sponsor gives a student after offering them an unconditional place on a course. The student must enter it on their Student visa application and must apply within 6 months of receiving it.

How a confirmation of acceptance for studies works

To get a Student visa you need an unconditional offer of a place on a course with a licensed student sponsor. To prove it, your education provider sends you a reference number once it has offered you a place. That number is the confirmation of acceptance for studies, or CAS. You need it before you can apply for your visa, and you enter it on the application.^{[1]Home Office, Student visa: Your course}

A CAS is one of two documents that every applicant must provide. The other is a current passport or other valid travel document.^{[2]Home Office, Student visa: Documents you'll need to apply} Some people also need proof of money, an ATAS certificate, a tuberculosis test result, parental consent if they are under 18 or written consent from a financial sponsor.^{[2]Home Office, Student visa: Documents you'll need to apply} We cover the visa itself on our Student visa page.

The CAS has a time limit. You must apply for your visa within 6 months of receiving it.^{[1]Home Office, Student visa: Your course}

Where a CAS is needed

You need a CAS whenever you apply for a Student visa. That includes applications from inside the UK to extend or switch. The timing rules differ.^{[5]Home Office, Student visa: Overview}

For an extension or a switch, you must apply before your current visa expires. Your new course must begin within 28 days of the current visa expiring. You must also apply within 6 months of getting your CAS.^{[3]Home Office, Student visa: Extend your visa[4]Home Office, Student visa: Switch to this visa} The extension page gives an example. If your visa expires on 1 December, you must apply before that date and your new course must begin by 29 December.^{[3]Home Office, Student visa: Extend your visa}

If you want to extend, you must usually show that the new course is at a higher academic level than your current one. There are exceptions, for example when you are resitting exams or completing a PhD you started on your last Student visa.^{[3]Home Office, Student visa: Extend your visa} You cannot switch to a Student visa from some visas, including a visit visa, a short-term student visa and a seasonal worker visa.^{[4]Home Office, Student visa: Switch to this visa}

A CAS is also used by a student union sabbatical officer applying to work in that role.^{[3]Home Office, Student visa: Extend your visa}

What else the application involves

The Student visa fee is £558 from outside the UK, and £558 to extend or switch from inside the UK. You must pay the fee for each person who joins you, and you also pay the Immigration Health Surcharge.^{[5]Home Office, Student visa: Overview} GOV.UK says a decision usually comes within 3 weeks from outside the UK and 8 weeks from inside it. You may be able to pay for a faster decision.^{[5]Home Office, Student visa: Overview}

If the application succeeds, you get an eVisa.^{[5]Home Office, Student visa: Overview} You can arrive up to 1 week before your course starts if it lasts 6 months or less, and up to 1 month before if it lasts longer. You must not travel to the UK before the start date given on your visa.^{[5]Home Office, Student visa: Overview}

Example

Sofia is offered an unconditional place on a full-time degree that starts on 15 September. Her university is a licensed student sponsor and sends her a CAS on 1 June. She is outside the UK. The earliest she could have applied was 6 months before the course, which was 15 March, so she is already inside that window. She must apply within 6 months of 1 June, which means by 1 December. She enters the CAS reference on the online application and pays £558 plus the healthcare surcharge. The decision usually comes within 3 weeks.^{[1]Home Office, Student visa: Your course[5]Home Office, Student visa: Overview}

Because her course lasts longer than 6 months, she can arrive up to 1 month before it starts, but not before the start date on her visa.^{[5]Home Office, Student visa: Overview}

Joao already holds a Student visa that expires on 1 December. He has a new CAS for a higher level course. He must apply before 1 December, and the new course must begin by 29 December.^{[3]Home Office, Student visa: Extend your visa}

What people get wrong

Many students treat the CAS as the visa. It is only a reference number from the education provider. The student still has to apply for the visa, pay the fee and provide the other evidence.

A second mistake is to forget the clock. A CAS does not stay usable indefinitely, because the application must be made within 6 months of receiving it.^{[1]Home Office, Student visa: Your course}

A third affects people already in the UK. Applying to extend or switch does not give extra time. The application must be made before the current visa expires, and the new course must begin within 28 days of that expiry.^{[3]Home Office, Student visa: Extend your visa}

The bottom line

A confirmation of acceptance for studies is the reference number that links a student’s visa application to a licensed education provider’s unconditional offer. It is needed to apply from outside the UK and to extend or switch from inside it. It must be used within 6 months of being received, and it does not replace the visa application or the evidence that goes with it.