The UK continues to be one of the most popular destinations students choose to pursue higher education studies. According to Universities UK, in 2018/19 there were 485,645 international students studying in the UK. 143,025 of these were from the EU and 342,620 were non-EU.

Usually undergraduate applications are made through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) while postgraduate applications are made directly to the university. However some universities will not require UCAS to be used and can also be made directly, usually through an online or paper application. Often universities have different deadlines for applications from international students, so it is important to consider the different deadlines universities offer.

To apply for a Student visa, you’ll need to satisfy three key criteria as part of the points-based system from 1 January 2020: 

• Have been offered a place at an accredited body/university. This is also known as a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)
• Have sufficient funds to cover your course and support yourself
• can speak, read, write and understand English (e.g. IELTS for  UKVI)

The Gov.uk website on student visa applications states that if you are applying from outside the UK, it is advised that the earliest to apply for a visa is 6 months before starting a course. Decisions are usually made within 3 weeks.

If you’re applying from inside the UK, the earliest you can apply is 3 months before your course starts and must begin within 28 days of your current visa expiring.

More of this information can be found on the gov.uk website highlighting an overview of the studying in the UK on a student visa: https://www.gov.uk/student-visa