Visitor visas can be used to study for less than six months. The most common reasons are:
- For a short course of less than 6 months such as English Language.
- Study as part of a Study Abroad or Exchange Programme.
- An agreed short period of research or research tuition that forms part of your postgraduate overseas degree.
- To undertake an ‘Elective’ in the UK that is relevant to your medicine, veterinary medicine, nursing, midwifery, or dentistry overseas degree course.
- To come to the university for a short period if you are studying a degree course via Distance Learning.
If you are coming to the UK to study a full-time degree course at the University of Brighton, you will normally need to apply for a Student visa, unless we have advised you otherwise.
If you are unsure if you need a Student visa or a Standard Visitor visa, please contact us using our visa enquiry form.
Conditions of Visitor visas
There are some restrictions on what you can do in the UK if you enter as a visitor. These include:
- Work is not permitted while you are in the UK. This includes unpaid work that is part of your course. If your course includes a work placement, you will need to contact us to check your eligibility for a Student Visa.
- Not being able to extend the Visit visa or apply to switch to another immigration category from within the UK.
- Not having full and free of charge access to all NHS services; you should therefore hold comprehensive travel insurance when you come to the UK as a visitor. See our healthcare guidance for more information.
How to apply for a Standard Visitor visa
You can find information on the requirements for a Standard Visitor visa for study purposes on the UK government website as well as information on how to apply for a visitor visa.
If you are a “visa national”, you *must* apply for and obtain entry clearance as a Standard Visitor before you travel to the UK. Find out if you are a visa national.
If your application is successful you should be granted a visa that is valid for six months.
Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)
If you are *not* a “visa national” you do not need to apply for a Visitor visa before coming to the UK as you can seek entry upon your arrival at immigration at the UK border. However, you *must* apply for and obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) before you travel to the UK.
Find out more about the ETA scheme, including the application fee and how to make an application on the ETA website.
An ETA is valid for two years but if you are granted ‘permission to enter’ the UK as a Standard Visitor it will only be for six months. Please note that should you leave the UK during this period the visit permission you have will lapse. You will need to seek permission again on your return.
Using eGates at the UK border
If you are a national of an EU country, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland or the USA you will usually be able to use the eGates when you enter the UK. This means you will not receive a stamp in your passport that shows when you entered the UK. It is important you keep evidence of the date you entered the UK as the university will need this as proof of when your permission to enter expires.
Requirements and evidence
Please note that you must provide the relevant and required documents with a Standard Visitor visa application as explained in the UKVI guidance. If you need to obtain a visa, you provide the documents with your application; if you seek entry at the border, you show your documents to the immigration officer.
- The university will provide you with a Study visit visa letter. To request this letter please email us at Non-T4@brighton.ac.uk.
- If you are coming to study at postgraduate level or undertake research in certain sensitive subject areas you may need an ATAS Certificate in order to be able to start your course or period of research.
- You do not need to submit this with your visa application, but you will need to provide it to the university in order to enrol.
- You also need to provide evidence that you can afford to pay for your tuition fees (if applicable), accommodation and other living costs while you are in the UK.
- There is no fixed amount of money you need to show, although as a guide, the requirements for a Student visa are that you have £1,136 for each month of your course plus any tuition fees.
- If you are coming to undertake research or research tuition, Study Abroad or Exchange or an Elective please note that you must provide a letter from your home university that confirms it consents to the visit and that the study is relevant to your course.