Moving to a new country to study is an exciting step, but the visa and immigration process can feel daunting. This page provides the information and guidance you need to prepare for your studies with us.
Pre-arrivals information
If you intend to enrol for more than six months in the UK, you may need to apply for a Student visa to study. As of 5 October 2020, a new student immigration route was introduced in the UK. This has replaced the Tier 4 (General) visa category and will apply to EU/EEA nationals who do not hold Pre-settled or Settled Status wishing to enter the UK from 1 January 2021 onwards.
You must be a UK or Irish national or hold pre-settled or settled status in the UK to enrol for one of our courses. Alternatively, if you are not a UK or Irish National or hold pre-settled or settled status, you must apply for a Student visa if you are planning to study for six months or longer or a Standard Visitor visa if your course is shorter than six months.
Applying outside the UK
If you are applying from outside the UK, you should always refer to the Home Office website, where you will find information on where to apply, how to apply and the cost of the application. Please ensure that you only travel to the UK after you have been granted your Student visa. For further reference, the Visa authorisation date will also be mentioned in your UKVI decision letter. If you enter the UK as a visitor beforehand (by using your passport), your Student visa will not be valid, and you must leave and re-enter the UK to validate it.
Before you apply for your visa, you must ensure that you have all the required supporting documentation to avoid mistakes and delays. You can only apply for your visa up to six months before the start date of your chosen course. After submitting your application, you must not travel to the UK while your Student visa application is pending. Once granted, the Student visa will be accessible as an e-Visa. To access your e-Visa, you must follow the instructions on the UKVI email which you will receive. You must also send the College a share code which you can obtain from your UKVI visa account. You must ensure that you only enter the UK during the validity dates of this visa.
If you travel to the UK before the visa issue date, your stay in the UK will be restricted to six months, you will not be registered to your chosen course, your visa will not be valid and you will be expected to leave the UK and re-enter once granted your Student visa. This will likely result in additional fee charges, which could lead to unnecessary inconvenience.
Please get in touch with the Visa Compliance Team for further questions: visacompliance@rcl.ac.uk
Overseas checklist
- A current passport/valid travel document: Your passport should have at least six months before the expiry date before travelling to the UK
- 1 passport photograph: With your name and date of birth written on the reverse
- Reference letters: This reference should be on letter-headed paper, from a teacher/lecturer and/or employer who can state why they think you would be suitable for studying the chosen course. We require the letter to be signed and dated.
- Personal statement: This should outline why you wish to study your chosen course and why you wish to attend Regent College London (RCL) in particular. You should include your background, previous academic achievement and experiences that led you to choose the course. You should include work experience that relates to the course. You should also include what other interests you have and why you make a suitable candidate.
- Original academic certificate or transcript for each qualification listed on your CAS (Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies) under the evidence section
- Original evidence of your English language qualification: If stated on your CAS
- Bank statements: Ensuring you can show the required balance of funds in your account for 28 days
- Your CAS
- Tuberculosis (TB) test results (if you are applying from a country where you need to take a test)
- Official Financial Sponsorship letter (if applicable): From the government sponsorship back in your home country or a parental/guardian letter
- UKVI Visa application fee (learn more)
- Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) Fee (learn more)
- Application submission coversheet: This must be printed and signed after paying for your online application
- Declare any previous visa refusals for the UK or any other countries and/or any criminal convictions and the details that you may have
Credibility interview
When applying for a Student visa from overseas, the Home Office may require you to attend a credibility interview, whereby you will be assessed on your integrity, whether you are genuine in wishing to study in the UK, and your fluency in English – to determine whether you meet the required English language standard.
In this case, the interview will be conducted in English. The credibility interview is an essential part of the visa application process. However, interviews are extended to students selected at random or where there are specific circumstances, such as immigration enquiries, education history, incomplete visa applications or discrepancies with supporting visa documentation.
The interviews are usually held after your Biometrics appointment and after you have submitted your documents and fingerprints at the visa application centre. The interview will take place either by telephone, video call or in person, depending on the circumstances and should last approximately 30 minutes.
The interviewer will then pass the results on to an Entry Clearance Officer at the Home Office, who will decide whether to conduct a second interview or the overall outcome of your visa application.
Interview FAQs
You need to answer nationality and current immigration status clearly.
You may be asked about your family and any dependents who live with you. Who will look after them when you are studying?
You need to give specific reasons and explain how you will benefit from studying in the UK in comparison to other countries. How will it enhance your career prospects? Do you wish to work in your home country, or do you want to pursue a career in the UK?
You need to demonstrate your knowledge of RCL and why you applied to us. This could be based on the College’s location, reputation, course material etc. They may ask whether you, the applicant, considered studying at any other institutions and the differences between RCL and the other institutions.
For general information about RCL, explore our “About us” webpage.
Explain why you chose the course, discuss specific modules and why you prefer the course over another offer.
Explain how you are going to fund yourself while at RCL and pay for course fees, accommodation, living expenses etc. Will you use your money, money from your parents or a loan? What research have you done into costs, travel time etc.? Are you planning to do some part-time work alongside your course?
Explain your career aspirations and plans after graduation. How will the course help you in your future career?
It is essential to research RCL and the course you wish to study and have all your paperwork together to answer such questions with confidence.
You may be asked about your academic background and qualifications to ensure that you have the correct credentials to study the chosen course.
Second interviews
It is possible that some students may be required to attend a second credibility interview. In this case, if an invitation for a second interview is extended to you, it is just as important that you attend and take it just as seriously as your first interview.
The second credibility interview will likely be more in depth and longer in duration. The interview will again be conducted in English via telephone/ video call or face-to-face. At this interview you may be asked to further elaborate on your answers about your visa application, finances or personal circumstances from your first credibility interview.
If you are invited to any credibility interview and fail to attend without an acceptable reason, your visa application will be refused. If you cannot attend for any other reason, please contact our UKVI Compliance Team by emailing international@rcl.ac.uk
Visa documents and further information
A CAS is an electronic document confirming our sponsorship of you as a full-time student in the UK. It will contain a unique alphanumeric reference number (CAS number) that you must include in your Student visa application, as well as the start date and end date of your course. The earliest that a CAS can be issued is six months prior to the start date of the programme.
We can only send you a CAS once you have met all the conditions of your offer letter. You must contact the Recruitment team for further details about the international visa process. You must ensure that you have enough time to apply for the CAS and can obtain your visa before the registration deadline of your course, so you must meet the conditions of your offer as soon as possible.
Once you are issued with a CAS, it is your responsibility to check the details on the document are correct. You are required to inform us if there is any error. In most cases, we should be able to correct your CAS electronically. We can add a “sponsor note” to correct any CAS details or update the tuition fees. We will not issue you a new CAS – we will confirm we have fixed the electronic document.
Each translated document needs to contain the following:
- Confirmation from the translator/translation company that it is an accurate translation of the original document
- The date of the translation
- The full name and signature of the translator or of an authorised officer of the translation company
- The contact details of the translator or translation company; and (if you are already in the UK and are applying for further leave) certification by a qualified translator and details of the translator or translation company’s credentials
This should outline the reasons why you wish to study the course and why you wish to attend RCL in particular. You should include your background, previous academic achievement and experiences that led you to the course. You should also include work experience that relates to the course, as well as other interests you have and why you make a suitable candidate.
We are assessing potential students based on the following criteria and how well they can relate it back to the course:
- Why you want to attend RCL
- Previous academic achievement
- Experiences leading them to choosing the course
- Work experience
- Interests and hobbies
- Why you make a suitable candidate
Depending on what country you are from, you may need to have a Tuberculosis (TB) test before you can apply for your CAS and Student visa.
You will need a TB test if you are coming to the UK for more than six months and are a resident of any of these listed countries. This only applies to applications made outside the UK.
If the test is negative, you will be given a certificate that needs to be provided in your visa application. This certificate is valid for six months. You need to ensure that you take the test less than six months before you apply for the visa application.
If you are from a country that ordinarily requires a TB test, you will not need one if the following applies to you: You have lived in a country where UKVI does not require applicants to submit a TB test certificate, and you have been away from that country for less than six months.
Upon passing your TB screening, you will be issued an official certificate which has an expiry date. This will be stated on your certificate.
To submit a Student visa application, you will have to pay an additional fee called an Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS). Please note that this change also applies to immigration applications in other categories. Although it does increase the overall cost of making a visa application, the money raised contributes to the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). This gives you the right to receive medical care while you are in the UK without any further cost.
Students who apply for a visa of more than six months will be charged. However, students coming to the UK for less than six months will not be charged. This will mean that you will not be charged if your student visa application is made for one of our pre-sessional English courses of less than six months.
You will be charged when you extend your permission to stay inside the UK to undertake your main degree course.
Your visa application may be rejected if you fail to pay the Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) when you apply for your visa. However, if you pay the fee but your visa application falls for a refusal, the fee should be refunded.
The Compliance Team can help you with this. Please contact our UKVI Compliance Team by emailing international@rcl.ac.uk
International students who hold a Student visa to study in the UK are subject to working restrictions imposed by UKVI. This is stated on your eVisa – where it will state the number of hours you are allowed to work during term time. During your holiday break, you are allowed to work full-time. However, once the term resumes, you must revert to working within the restricted hours. These term dates can be found here. For further reference, you can also be issued a work reference letter that stipulates the holiday dates within the term which can then be shown to the employer to prove they can work additional hours.
The main purpose of your travel to the UK should be to pursue and fully focus on your studies. Students are reminded that taking up work during their stay in the UK can significantly diminish their ability to keep up with their study commitments resulting in poor performance and potential non-compliance of their course requirements and visa conditions.
During your term, you are not allowed to travel outside of the UK. Traveling outside of the UK is only granted during exceptional circumstances. Requests to travel outside of the UK during term time will require evidence of your circumstances, where your case will be reviewed, and if accepted, a travel letter will be issued.
However, during term break, travelling will be permitted as you do not have an obligation to attend classes.
If you travel and fail to inform compliance of your whereabouts, or your intentions to travel during term time, will result in an unauthorised absence, which will affect your attendance.
Any inquiries you may have with regards to the information above, please contact our UKVI Compliance Team by emailing visacompliance@rcl.ac.uk
If you receive a UKVI refusal, please contact our UKVI Compliance Team by emailing a copy of the visa refusal letter immediately to international@rcl.ac.uk
If you expect to arrive late for your enrolment due to UKVI visa processing delays or any other reason, please contact both our Enrolment and International Teams by emailing enrolment@rcl.ac.uk and international@rcl.ac.uk
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