Short-term study visa

Do I need a Short-term study visa or Student visa?

Short-term study visas are primarily for short courses of less than six months duration for example, for a short English language course or for study as part of a study abroad or exchange programme. However, it is also possible to apply for an extended short-term study visa if you are coming to study an English language course for up to 11 months.

In some cases, it may also be possible to apply for a short-term study visa if you are outside of the UK and need to come back to complete your degree course and you will be coming back to the UK for less than six months (for example, to resit exams), or if you are coming to the university for a short period as part of 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 then you normally will need to apply for a Student visa, unless we have advised you otherwise. If you are coming to study one of our pre-sessional courses before you start your degree course, you should also apply for a Student visa.

Short-term students are not permitted to work while they are in the UK. This includes unpaid work that is part of your course.  

Short-term students cannot extend their visas or switch into another immigration category from within the UK.

If you are unsure if you need a Student visa or a Short-term study visa contact us using our visa enquiry form.

How to apply

Find out more about how to apply on the Home Office website.

If you are non-visa national (any national who is not on the visa national list) then you can apply for leave to enter as a short-term student on arrival at the airport.

Please note that you must be absolutely clear that you are seeking leave to enter as a short-term student. If you are admitted as a standard visitor (ie. a tourist) you will not be permitted to study in the UK and the university will be unable to enrol you. In order to be granted leave to enter as a short-term student you must provide the Immigration Officer with evidence that you meet the requirements as if you were applying for the visa.

If you are coming to study an English language course that is over six months long as a short-term student you must apply for the extended short-term study visa prior to travelling, even If you are a non-visa national.

If you are a visa national you will need to apply for your short-term study visa before travelling to the UK. You do not need to do this from your country of nationality or residence; you can apply from any country where you are lawfully present. 

Requirements and evidence

The university will provide you with a short-term study visa letter. To request this letter email us at casenquiries@brighton.ac.uk. 

You also need to provide evidence that you can afford to pay for your tuition fees, 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 £1,015 for each month of your course plus your tuition fees.

Find out more information on the requirements and documents needed on the Home Office website.

See also information on the UKCISA website for short-term students.

Ask us a question about visas

Returning to the UK for your graduation

If your Student visa is due to expire before your graduation ceremony and you are not applying to remain here in another immigration category, you will usually need to apply for a standard visitor visa in order to attend the graduation ceremony.

You will need to do this from outside of the UK. It is not possible to extend a Student visa for the purpose of attending your graduation ceremony.

Find out more about how to apply for a standard visitor visa.

You will need to contact the ceremonies team on ceremony.administration@brighton.ac.uk to ask for a letter confirming that you are invited to the ceremony.

Please contact us if your Student visa or residence permit will cover your graduation ceremony and you wish to use it to come back to the UK for this purpose.

Schengen visas

If you are a non-EEA national studying in the UK and you wish to travel to Europe for study or for tourism purposes, then you may need to apply for a Schengen visa.

You will need to provide evidence from the university that you are studying here as part of your Schengen visa application. Please contact us on studentadministration@brighton.ac.uk for a letter confirming you are enrolled as a student.

If you will be travelling to more than one Schengen country during your trip you should apply for your Schengen visa for the country where you will be spending the most time. If you will be spending an equal amount of time in each country, you should apply to the country where you will be travelling to first.

You can apply for a Schengen visa using these embassy websites:

These are the most common countries for which students need Schengen visas.

For further advice and information on applying for a Schengen visa, including to other countries not listed above, visit the UKCISA website.