International Student Visas

Student Visa Information

Student Visa

As an international student, you'll need a visa to study in the UK. There are a few different types of visa available from the UK government, but the type you will need to study at Plymouth Marjon University is a Student Visa.

On this visa, you can study on full-time courses as well as part-time postgraduate courses (as long as they are Level 7 or above on the UK government's Regulated Qualification Framework).

The UK Government introduced a new points based immigration system on 5 October 2020. The system includes a new ‘Student Route’ for international students wanting to apply for a student visa to study in the UK. This route replaced Tier 4 student visas.

If you are joining a full-time, on-campus undergraduate or postgraduate course, you must apply for a Student Route visa to study in the UK.

You will also need this visa if you are joining a part-time postgraduate course, but you cannot work (including work placements) or have dependants.

Plymouth Marjon University (our trading name) is listed on the UK government's Register of Education and Training Providers and the UK Visa and Immigration service's Register of Sponsors Licensed under the Points Based System, as the University of St Mark & St John, our official title. Our Sponsor Licence Number (SLN) on this register is 429HD6EK2.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a student visa via the new Student Route, you must:

have been offered a place on a course

• speak, read, write and understand English (check our English Language requirements)
• have a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) from the University
• have enough money to support yourself and pay for your course (the amount will vary depending on your circumstances)
• meet any other eligibility requirements

The government have issued very clear guidance on how to apply for a Student Visa here

Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS)

You will receive a CAS from the University's Visa team once you have met all the academic and non-academic conditions of your offer and be holding an Unconditional place. In order for the University to issue a CAS, you will be required to pay 50% of the first year’s tuition fee. The CAS will be issued once payment has been confirmed.  We will send you information about how to pay.

If your visa application is refused, the deposit is refundable unless your visa is refused for providing incorrect or fraudulent paperwork, including insufficient qualifications or evidence of sufficient funds.  The University reserves the right to refuse a request for a replacement CAS under these circumstances.

The CAS will contain a unique number that you'll need to input on your visa application. You must check all the details on your CAS are correct as soon as you can. These include your name, date of birth, nationality and course details, including course title and start and end dates. If anything is incorrect, please email tier4@marjon.ac.uk to get your details corrected before you attempt to use the CAS.

A CAS is valid for 6 months from the date it is assigned. The applicant can apply for entry clearance or leave to remain 6 months before the start of the course. If the CAS is not used within this period the CAS will expire.

The 50% balance of tuition fees must be paid before registering on the course. If your fees are being paid by a 3rd party or institution, please contact tier4@marjon.ac.uk .

For each subsequent year of study, the tuition fees must be paid in full for that year, before registration.  We are unable to provide payment instalments for overseas fee payers.

How to Apply for a Student Visa

You must apply online for a Student Route Visa.

You will need to have your fingerprints and photograph taken at a visa application centre as part of your application, in order to get a biometric residence permit.

You may be able to get your visa faster depending on what country you are in – check with your visa application centre.

You may need to attend a short credibility interview as part of your application.

Once your visa has been issued, we will require evidence of it to be emailed to feeassessment@marjon.ac.uk.

Health Surcharge

The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) was introduced by the UK Government to help cover any medical needs you might have while you are here in the UK. You will need to pay this if you are studying in the UK for more than six months, or if you are already in the UK and apply to extend your stay.

You can find information on the Government website.  The charge will be per year of study, payable at the time of visa application.

If you do not pay the surcharge if it is required, your visa application will be refused or treated as invalid and rejected.

Biometric Residence Permit (BRP)

You need a biometric residence permit (BRP) when you apply to stay in the UK for more than 6 months. You don't need to apply for a BRP as well as your visa – you will get one automatically once your visa application is approved.

You can use your BRP to confirm your identity, your right to study in the UK, and your right to any public services or benefits.

If you have applied for your Student Visa outside of the UK, you must collect your BRP once in the UK.  We will require you to provide evidence of the card in person at the University.

From time to time, there may be an error with your visa. The problem is not always the same, and so getting it corrected is dependent on the type of error that has occurred.

Please check the details on your BRP card carefully. The most common errors are:

• Incorrect length of leave (check the end date matches your course end date)
• Incorrect working conditions
• Incorrect spelling of name

It is important that this is corrected as soon as possible, UKVI must be notified of errors within 10 days of receipt of the BRP.  Please see this guidance.